Statistical analysis in equine research involves the application of mathematical techniques to collect, review, and interpret data related to horse health, behavior, and performance. This field encompasses a variety of methods, including descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and multivariate analysis, to identify patterns, test hypotheses, and draw conclusions from equine data. Statistical analysis aids in understanding various aspects of equine science, such as disease prevalence, treatment efficacy, genetic traits, and performance metrics. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, applications, and outcomes of statistical analysis in the context of equine studies.
Manglai D, Wada R, Kurohmaru M, Yoshihara T, Kuwano A, Oikawa M, Hayashi Y.The present study attempted to clarify the characteristics of the guttural pouch mucosa in equines and to evaluate its foreign substance clearance ability. The specimens were collected from nine regions (eight in the guttural pouch mucosa, and one in the nasopharynx mucosa). We first examined the pouch mucosa by light and electron microscopy. We then measured the frequency of goblet cells per 200 epithelial cells, the length of the cilia, the thickness of the epithelial cell layer and lamina propria and statistically analyzed the data. The guttural pouch mucosa consisted of stratified columnar...
Ribeiro Neto LM, Salvadori MC, Spinosa HS.As hydrocortisone is an endogenous substance, it is first necessary to establish its normal concentrations so as to be able to control its use in racing animals. This study was designed to establish the hydrocortisone concentrations in post-race urine samples of horses racing in Brazil and also to evaluate the results in relation to the international threshold set for this drug. Urine samples were analysed by HPLC-UV. The results were evaluated according to the concentration range as well as sex and time of sample collection (afternoon or evening races). The results showed a high degree of var...
Neto FJ, Luna SP, Massone F, Thomassian A, Vargas JL, Junior JR, D'Utra Vaz BB, Crocci AJ.To evaluate the effect of changing the mode of ventilation from spontaneous to controlled on the arterial-to-end-tidal CO2 difference [P(a-ET)CO2] and physiological dead space (VD(phys)/VT) in laterally and dorsally recumbent halothane-anesthetized horses. STUDY DESIGN; Prospective, experimental, nonrandomized trial. Methods: Seven mixed breed adult horses (1 male and 6 female) weighing 320 +/- 11 kg. Methods: Horses were anesthetized in 2 positions-right lateral and dorsal recumbency-with a minimum interval of 1 month. Anesthesia was maintained with halothane in oxygen for 180 minutes. Sponta...
Sechin A, Deschamps JC, Lucia T, Aleixo JA, Bordignon V.We evaluated the effect of PMSG on the weaning-to-first service interval, total litter size and born alive litter size in swine. Four doses of PMSG (0, 500, 750 and 1,000 IU) were administered intramuscularly after weaning to sows at 3 different farms, grouped by parities (1, 2 and 3 or higher) and 2 distinct time periods. The associations among main effects and response variables were assessed by analysis of variance. Polynomial orthogonal terms were used to adjust the estimates of weaning-to-first service interval, total litter size and born alive litter size for the interaction effect of pa...
Cadario ME, Merritt AM, Archbald LF, Thatcher WW, LeBlanc MM.Intrauterine pressure was measured in 4 reproductively normal mares and 4 mares with delay in uterine clearance after administration of oxytocin to determine if intrauterine pressure varied between dosage and group. Changes in intrauterine pressure were measured during estrus, when a follicle was > or =35 mm, using a Millar "Mikro-tip" catheter that had 3 discrete pressure sensors/channels. Mares received 4 different treatments of 10, 5, 2.5 or 0 IU (vehicle) of oxytocin. The protocol for each treatment consisted of a 10-min baseline recording, administration of treatment and measurement of...
Whitton RC, Kannegieter NJ, Rose RJ.To examine the relationship between medial palmar intercarpal ligament (MPICL) tearing and postoperative performance in racing horses. Methods: The postoperative performance of 42 horses in which the midcarpal joint was examined arthroscopically was followed prospectively. Intra-articular variables examined were the severity of MPICL tearing, subchondral bone damage and articular cartilage damage. Using a scoring system based on the class of race and the position in the race, a mean score was calculated for up to five races before and after surgery. The preoperative score was subtracted from t...
Sweeney CR, Tomasic M, Russell GE.The effect of inhaled nitric oxide on pulmonary mechanics was studied in normal standing horses with histamine-induced bronchoconstriction. The respiratory health status of 6 normal horses was established on the basis of history, clinical and bronchoalveolar lavage examination. Intrathoracic pressures were estimated using distal oesophageal pressures. Respiratory gas flows were measured using a heated pneumotachograph. Pulmonary mechanics variables were determined from these measurements on a breath by breath basis. Bronchoconstriction was induced by nebulizing a 0.75% w/v solution of histamin...
De Lille AJ, Silvers ML, Cadario ME, Tran TQ, Cage CL, LeBlanc MM.The effects of the sedatives xylazine (predominantly alpha2 agonist) and acepromazine (predominantly alpha1 antagonist) and their influence on intrauterine pressure were measured in four reproductively normal mares and four mares with delayed uterine clearance. Intrauterine pressure was measured in each mare during oestrus for three 100 min periods using an 8-F catheter with three discrete pressure sensors. After 10 min of baseline recording, xylazine, acepromazine or saline was administered i.v. Oxytocin was administered i.v. after a further 30 min, and pressure recordings were continued for ...
Hunt WF, Thomas VG, Stiefel W.Studies of growth and conformation require statistical methods that are not applicable to subjective conformation standards used by breeders and trainers. A new system was developed to provide an objective approach for both science and industry, based on analysis of video images to measure aspects of conformation that were represented by angles or lengths. A studio crush was developed in which video images of horses of different sizes were taken after bone protuberances, located by palpation, were marked with white paper stickers. Screen pixel coordinates of calibration marks, bone markers and...
Ross WA, Kaneene JB, Caron JP, Gallagher KF, Gardiner JC.The objective of this study was to identify factors that may affect recovery from and duration of a case of lameness in a stratified random sample of Michigan horses. This was done using data from Phase-II of the Michigan equine monitoring system (MEMS Phase-II), the equine health-monitoring study [Kaneene et al., Prev. Vet. Med. 29 (1997b) 277-292; Ross and Kaneene, Prev. Vet. Med. 28 (1996a) 209-224; Ross and Kaneene, Prev. Vet. Med. 29 (1996b) 59-75; Ross et al., Am. J. Vet. Res. 59 (1997) 23-29]. In this study, statistical modelling was conducted to evaluate risk factors affecting recovery...
Weil M, Litzke LF, Fritsch R.Thirty-six lameness free horses and 119 horses with lameness of the distal forelimb including the carpus were evaluated through thermography. Examination was done with an infrared thermography camera "Thermovision 470" and a specially developed analyzing software program. Temperature differences between corresponding regions of the left and right forelimb were determined and scrutinized statistically between various lameness groups. By creating temperature differences between both limbs a parameter for skin temperature was found which is independent of surrounding temperature. In lameness free...
Ellis JM, Hollands T.Six hundred horses of different ages, heights and breeds were weighed on a weighbridge and had their weights estimated by two weigh tapes, 1 and 2, by a formula, and by a visual estimate. For the population as a whole, the most accurate method was the formula (mean [sd] 98.6 [10.6] per cent) closely followed by weigh tape 2 (98.1 [8.1] per cent). Tape 1 and the visual estimate were the least accurate (112.0 [9.3] and 88.3 [20.1] per cent respectively). When the population was divided into two height groups, the formula and weigh tape 2 were the most accurate for horses or = 15 hh weigh tape 1...
Garma-Aviña A.A total of 100 samples of abdominal fluid (AF) from 100 horses with abdominal disease were evaluated by cytology. Cytology results were subsequently correlated with the final outcome of the disease. The horses were classified into 4 groups: Group I, horses that were treated with conventional (nonsurgical) therapy and recovered; Group II, horses that had surgery and survived; Group III, horses that had surgery but died; and Group IV, horses that were subjected to euthanasia prior to surgery. Statistical analysis showed that both nucleated cell count and total neutrophils were significantly high...
Jamieson A, Taylor SC.Three general formulae calibrate the average capability of marker systems to dispute falsely reported pedigree records in uniparous species. The most familiar exclusion formula applies to paternity, although the same formula applies equally to maternity. Another formula faults the relationship of a single offspring with its putative parent; for example, where the genotype of the other parent is not available. The remaining formulae excludes both of the falsely recorded parents of a substituted offspring. Simplified forms of the three general formulae facilitate the calculation of maximal avera...
Henckel P, Ducro B, Oksbjerg N, Hassing L.The objectivity of two of the most widely used methods for differentiation of fibre types, i.e. 1) the myosin ATP-ase method (Brooke and Kaiser, 1970a,b) and 2) the combined method, by which the myosin ATP-ase reaction is used to differentiate between fast and slow twitch fibres and NADH-tetrazolium reductase activity is used to identify the subgroups of fast twitch fibres (Ashmore and Doerr, 1970, Peter et al., 1972), was assessed in muscle samples from horses, calves and pigs. We also assessed the objectivity of the alpha-amylase-PAS preparation for the visualisation of capillaries (Andersen...
Matthews NS, Peck KE, Mealey KL, Taylor TS, Ray AC.Five donkeys and three horses were given guaifenesin, intravenously, by gravity administration, until recumbency was produced. The time and dose required to produce recumbency, recovery time to sternal and standing were recorded. Blood samples were collected for guaifenesin assay at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 min, and 2, 3, 4 and 6 h after guaifenesin administration. Serum was analysed for guaifenesin using HPLC and pharmacokinetic values were calculated using a computer software package (RSTRIP). In donkeys, heart and respiratory rates and blood pressures were recorded before and at 5-min interva...
Hagedorn HW, Schulz R.Statistical analysis of normally occurring cortisol levels in serum and urine of horses served to recommend thresholds for this corticosteroid in these body fluids, as application of exogenous cortisol as well as ACTH may elevate the cortisol concentrations above the proposed threshold. The present study contributes to the general issue of how to establish thresholds for trotting horses upon sportive examination. 100 randomly selected post competition serum and urine samples, respectively, were submitted to cortisol analysis by means of HPLC. Concentrations of the endogenous corticosteroid in ...
Doherr MG, Carpenter TE, Wilson WD, Gardner IA.Potential biases introduced by the use of hospital admission records have rarely been discussed in the veterinary literature. Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) patient records kept at the University of California, Davis (UCD) School of Veterinary Medicine provide a unique opportunity to perform in-depth analyses on the effect of different control selection (sampling) techniques on odds ratio (OR) estimates for disease risk factors in a retrospective case-control study. Horses with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis abscesses (134) and the (secondary) study base population (source for...
Rivara FP.Examine the current magnitude of the injury problem to children and adolescents on farms, and to compare these data to that from 1978-83. Methods: US National Center for Health Statistics Mortality Multiple Cause of Death Tapes for the years 1991-3, and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission National Electronic Injury Surveillance System for data on emergency department visits for 1990-3. Methods: Children and adolescents 19 years and younger injured on farms. Results: There were an average of 104 deaths per year due to injuries occurring on farms. The rate of 8.0 deaths per 100,000 child f...
Hansen TF.Comparative studies tend to differ from optimality and functionality studies in how they treat adaptation. While the comparative approach focuses on the origin and change of traits, optimality studies assume that adaptations are maintained at an optimum by stabilizing selection. This paper presents a model of adaptive evolution on a macroevolutionary time scale that includes the maintenance of traits at adaptive optima by stabilizing selection as the dominant evolutionary force. Interspecific variation is treated as variation in the position of adaptive optima. The model illustrates how phylog...
Ma W, Klemm WR.Equine urine was analysed by capillary gas chromatography. The volatile profiles from oestrous and dioestrous samples were compared to establish any qualitative or quantitative difference that may have potential value in olfactory communication. Forty-five different volatile compounds were detected. Of these, 17 major compounds were common to all chromatograms. The chemical profile of oestrous urine was distinguished by the presence of a unique peak that was not present in dioestrous samples. Numerous constituents exhibited endocrine dependence: while the concentrations of seix peaks increased...
Johnson JE, Bruce AC.The aim of the research reported in this paper was to explore empirically whether levels of participation in horserace betting are affected by the complexity of the betting task. The study employed a systematic random sample of 1161 betting decisions made in UK offcourse betting offices during 1987. The research was conducted in a naturalistic setting where it was possible to grade complexity and to measure levels of participation. Complexity was defined in terms of both the number of alternatives in the decision-maker's choice set (number of horses in a race) and the complexity of the attribu...
Popot MA, Houghton E, Ginn A, Jones M, Teale P, Samuels T, Lassourd V, Dunnett N, Cowan DA, Bonnaire Y, Toutain PL.The purpose of the present report was to estimate the population parameters of cortisol concentrations in urine, an endogenous hormone used as a 'doping' agent and for which an international threshold (1.0 micrograms/ml) has been proposed. Two data bases (French and UK) corresponding to 112 and 142 samples, respectively were considered. Urine was collected under specific post competition conditions. Cortisol concentrations were obtained by validated methods (HPLC for the French samples, and GC-MS for UK samples). No difference was observed between the 2 data sets and statistical analyses were ...
Woolf CM.Arabian bay horses manifest, on the average, more common white markings in their hind legs than their forelegs (anteroposterior asymmetry) and more common white markings in their left legs than their right legs (directional asymmetry). To determine if genetic variation exists for these types of asymmetry, the phenotypic response was studied in bay foals when their dams and sires were selected for the directions of fore-hind and left-right differences. In the fore-hind studies, the quantitative shifts in the bay foals were in the direction specified by the selection scheme and the observed devi...
Martin GS, Strand E, Kearney MT.To develop a statistical model to evaluate the influence of specific parameters on racing performance in Thoroughbreds. Methods: Survey. Methods: Racing records of Thoroughbreds performing in Louisiana from 1981 to 1985. Methods: Race results for 20 randomly selected days from 5 racetracks during 5 years were analyzed, using regression analysis. Results: The most influential parameter was distance raced. There were significant differences in racing performance among horses at different tracks. At the tracks examined, fast racing surfaces resulted in significantly faster finish times than good ...
Peck KE, Ray AC, Manuel G, Rao MM, Foos J.To develop a sensitive, rugged high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the measurement of phenylbutazone (PBZ) in equine sera, using a rapid, nonevaporative extraction technique. Methods: Sera from 5 nonexercising adult horses. Methods: After addition of sodium chloride and acetonitrile to serum samples, reverse-phase HPLC analysis for PBZ and oxyphenbutazone (OXY) was performed directly on extracts, using diode array UV spectrophotometric detection. Probenecid was used as an internal standard. Data were evaluated by standard means of statistical analysis. Results: Recoveries ...
Gravance CG, Liu IK, Davis RO, Hughes JP, Casey PJ.The heads of stallion spermatozoa were analysed by computer automated sperm head morphometry and the morphometric values of the major subpopulations of sperm heads were assessed. The criteria for normal dimensions of stallion sperm heads are proposed based on the analysis of these measurements. Semen samples were collected from 10 fertile and 10 subfertile stallions, processed by a standard method, smeared onto microscope slides and stained using haematoxylin. At least 200 properly digitized sperm heads were analysed from each stallion. The measurements for length, width, area, perimeter and w...
Carr EA, Spier SJ, Kortz GD, Hoffman EP.Evaluate histories, clinical signs, and laboratory data of 69 horses homozygous by DNA testing for hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HPP). Methods: Cohort study. Methods: 69 of 189 horses testing homozygous for HPP between October 1992 and November 1994. Methods: Questionnaires addressing signalment, training regimes, medical history, and current status of affected horses were sent to owners, trainers, or attending veterinarians. Data from completed questionnaires were tabulated and evaluated, using descriptive statistics. Results: Sixty-nine (37%) of 189 questionnaires were completed and retur...
Steele LL, Wilkins JR.Associations between occupational exposures and spontaneous abortion (SA) in a cohort of female veterinarians were studied with pregnancy and job-exposure history data collected as part of a mixed-mode survey of all women graduating from U.S. veterinary colleges during the 11-year period 1970-1980 (N = 2,997; response rate 85.0%). Data analysis focused on SA risks among postgraduation pregnancies in relation to 1) type of clinical practice at the time of conception and 2) self-reported occupational exposures to 13 exposure entities. Multiple logistic regression was used to control for the pote...
Estberg L, Stover SM, Gardner IA, Johnson BJ, Case JT, Ardans A, Read DH, Anderson ML, Barr BC, Daft BM, Kinde H, Moore J, Stoltz J, Woods LW.To characterize and contrast data from Thoroughbreds that incurred a fatal musculoskeletal injury (FMI; injury resulting in death or euthanasia) during racing or training and data from all California race entrants during a 9-month period in 1991. Methods: Case-control study. Methods: Thoroughbreds that incurred a FMI during racing or training at a California race-meet and all California race entrants from January through June and October through December 1991. Methods: Age and sex were compared with chi 2 and Fisher's exact tests among horses fatally injured while racing and training. A log-li...
Hein M, Volkmann N, Probst J, Kemper N, Venner M.This retrospective report investigated whether starting racehorses' training and racing early is associated with a less successful and a shorter racing career. The data of 600 Thoroughbred racehorses from the German Racehorse Association's archiving programme were evaluated. The horses were classified into three groups regarding their different ages when starting training and racing: early training (16-24 months old)/early racing (two years old); early training/late racing (>two years old); and late training (25-30 months). Statistical models investigated effects on the horses' length of caree...
Cabaret J, Guerrero Molina C, Martínez-Ortiz-de Montellano C, Alcala Canto Y.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 ...
Henderson AR, Valverde A, Côté N, Sanchez A, Arroyo LG, Gu Y, Johnson R.To compare cardiopulmonary variables and recovery scores in isoflurane-anesthetized horses undergoing arthroscopy using two different intravenous (IV) lidocaine constant rate infusions (CRIs; 50 or 100 μg kg minute) under intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) or spontaneous ventilation (SV). Methods: Prospective, randomized, clinical study. Methods: A group of 30 client-owned horses, 8-156 months old (range), with body masses of 280-550 kg. Methods: Anesthesia protocol consisted of xylazine, ketamine and diazepam, and maintenance with isoflurane and a CRI of dexmedetomidine. All g...
Häussling MPP, Steinberg T, Büttner K, Hannig C, Hannig M, Lemke L, Zierau O, Staszyk C.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...
Avison A, Pyle WG, Sears W, Physick-Sheard PW.Sudden cardiac death is a leading cause of athletic death in both humans and horses, making racehorses a potentially valuable model for investigating sudden cardiac death. Cardiac restitution ratio (QT/TQ interval) is used to assess arrhythmia risk in humans, but investigations in athletes are scarce. The objective was to characterize QT interval and cardiac restitution ratio in Thoroughbred racehorses during maximal effort. Automated restitution analysis was performed using 2709 pairs of cardiac cycles from 30 Thoroughbred horses during races. Cardiac cycles were obtained during: pre-race; ac...
Alonso MA, Dos Santos GR, Fonte JS, Marques PC, Pereira DD, Toral FLB, Bordignon V, Junior JB, Squires E, Fernandes CB.This retrospective study evaluated whether different reproductive biotechnologies influence neonatal behaviour parameters in foals. Data from 102 foalings in two commercial breeding farms were analysed, including foals conceived by artificial insemination (AI), conventional embryo transfer (ET) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Neonatal parameters recorded were birth weight, time to achieve sternal recumbency, time to stand, time to nurse and time to meconium elimination. Mixed statistical models were applied to assess the influence of reproductive technique, breed, sex and farm. Si...
Nunes MM, Gurgel JRC, Munhoz ML, de Giuli V, Carneiro GF, Miragaya MH, Gallelli MF, Guimaraes JD.The aim of this study was to assess the effect of lyophilized freezing extenders, which can be stored at room temperature, on stallion post-thaw sperm total motility (TM). Ejaculates of 28 stallions were frozen with four different extenders: two commercial freezing extenders offered worldwide and two novel lyophilized extenders (STAR and MX3), and two different cryopreservation protocols (CP1 with an equilibration period of 20 min. and CP2 with an equilibration period of 60 min.). The TM was assessed after thaw. Mean TM did not show significant differences between cryopreservation protocols wi...
Arnold LC, Stout TAE, Beitsma MM, Deelen CC, Rizzo M, Leemans B, Galli C, Colleoni S, Lazzari G, Barandalla M, Claes ANJ.It is not known whether the likelihood of pregnancy after transfer of cryopreserved equine in vitro produced (IVP) blastocysts is related to post-thaw morphological characteristics, or could be impacted by other factors such as embryo biopsy prior to cryopreservation. This study examined associations between post-thaw morphological appearance of equine IVP embryos, and biopsy prior to slow-freezing, on the likelihood of pregnancy. Biopsy of IVP blastocysts was performed by harvesting cells herniated through the intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)-derived hole in the zona pellucida (ZP). M...
Stoneham SJ, Tyler N, Holmes MA, Archer DC.This prospective, controlled field trial aimed to determine the effect of dietary supplementation of mares in late pregnancy with a commercial stud feed balancer on the transfer of passive immunity to their foals. Eighty-two pregnant mares on a single stud farm that were eligible for inclusion were assigned into two groups (Intervention and Control) based primarily on existing social groupings. Between 64-224 days prepartum, all mares received the same forage-based diet but mares in the Intervention group received an in-feed commercial stud feed balancer and mares in the Control group received...
Angyal E, Vincze B, Somoskői B, Sós-Koroknai V, Balogh P, Dankó GN, Cseh S, Kútvölgyi G.The anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a granulosa cell-derived hormone that has been associated with female fertility and reflects the population of growing follicles. This study aimed to evaluate the average concentration of AMH in Lipizzaner mares, as well as to determine the relationship between AMH concentration and follicle number and size. We also investigated the relationship between the age of mares and their AMH levels. The possible effect of seasonality of AMH levels was also assessed. Twenty-three mares between 6 and 24 years of age were included in the experiment. Mares were divided...
Maria Feitosa Ribeiro L, Bersot Gomes JV, Hernando Ortiz Vega W, da Silva Alves A, Netto Machado M, Junio Wutke L, Raquel Quirino C....Stallion breeding is mostly based on desirable phenotypic traits, with little consideration for semen quality. Objective: To identify relationships among semen parameters in stallions using a non-invasive, integrative approach across summer and winter seasons. Methods: Twenty-four stallions were evaluated, in which semen collections, testicular thermography, and Doppler velocimetry of the testicular artery by Doppler ultrasonography were performed, in addition to the measurement of physiological, environmental, and heat stress parameters, both in winter (coat weather) and summer (T-shirt weath...
Rey-Conejo R, Toribio RE, Möller S, Müller E, Fores-Jackson P.Insulin dysregulation is a key component of equine metabolic syndrome and is commonly assessed using basal insulin concentrations. Different analyzers may yield variable insulin results, limiting comparability. Objective: To assess the analytical performance of the ADVIA Centaur XPT chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) for equine insulin measurement and to establish adapted decision thresholds based on comparison with a previously used CLIA method. Methods: Precision, linearity, and dilution recovery were assessed for the ADVIA Centaur XPT. A total of 89 equine serum samples submitted for basal...
Everts RE, Caron R, Foster G, McLoone K, Simiele L, Martin K, Brooks SA, Lafayette C.Roan coat color is described as the dispersion of white hairs within an otherwise solid background-color coat. This phenotype is primarily expressed on the body of the horse, with the head and legs exhibiting few or no white hairs. Previous studies mapped the locus for roan to the region and observed linked variants in a small number of breeds. Recently, we reported evidence for two independent haplotypes, and , in the region, which account for approximately 38% and 36% of roan horses, respectively. In the current report, using whole genome sequencing for unknown roan samples. We present a ...
Valderrama-Martinez C, Packham A, Smith W, Mendoza-Flores JE, Zheng S, Chigerwe M, Plancarte M, Aleman M.Long-term freezing storage can alter the stability of proteins, thereby compromising accurate determination of indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) titers that support the diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. Objective: Assess the effect of long-term storage at -80°C on IFAT against S. neurona and N. hughesi in equine serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Methods: Paired serum and CSF (n = 46), and serum only (n = 25) samples. Methods: Prospective study of samples stored 6-12, 13-18, and 19-24 months. Comparing antibody titers across time points, McNemar and Wilcoxon...
Furukawa R, Tozaki T, Mizukami K, Iwasaki Y, Kawate K, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Momozawa Y, Fukui E, Kakoi H.Thoroughbreds have been maintained as a closed breed for over 300 years since the crossbreeding between Arabian stallions and English mares. Despite interest in germline de novo mutations across species, their frequency in horses, particularly in Thoroughbreds, remains largely unexplored. Objective: This study aimed to identify de novo mutations in Thoroughbreds and estimate their frequency within a genetically closed population. Methods: We performed deep whole-genome sequencing (≥230× depth, 150 bp paired-end reads) and Sanger validation in a Thoroughbred trio (sire, dam, and foal). Reads...
Baxley BH, Stellato A, Anderson NC.Horses involved in equine-assisted services (EAS) support the psychological and physiological health of individuals through mounted activities; however, limited research exists on how these sessions affect the horse's movement. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the influence of rider presence and posture on horses' gait parameters in EAS settings. Methods: Horses (n = 22) were observed during walk and trot, both with and without a mounted rider, in four EAS centers in the United States. Distal limb-mounted inertial measurement units collected peak ground reaction force (pGRF), stride ...
Riahi Z, Naeini AT, Zare R.Dareshuri horses are the predominant breed in Fars Province, Iran. Although disorders affecting their maxillary cheek teeth and maxillary sinuses are relatively common, limited fundamental data are available on the dimensions and relationships of these structures at different ages. Given the significant anatomical changes in the heads of young horses as they mature, this study aimed to evaluate age-related changes in the position and anatomical relationships of individual maxillary cheek teeth within the rostral and caudal maxillary sinuses (RMS and CMS, respectively), as well as changes in th...
Kassymbekova SN, Bimenova ZZ, Iskhan KZ, Sobiech P, Jastrzebski JP, Brym P, Babis W, Kalykova AS, Otebayev ZM, Kabylbekova DI, Baneh H, Romanov MN.Mugalzhar horses are a relatively young native breed of Kazakhstan, prized for meat and milk production and adaptation. This study was conducted to investigate genetic diversity and pinpoint genomic regions associated with selection signatures in this breed using whole-genome sequence data. Variant calling yielded a total of 21,722,393 high-quality variants, including 19,495,163 SNPs and 2,227,230 indels. Most variants were located in introns and intergenic regions, while only 1.94% were exonic. Estimates of genetic diversity were moderate, with expected and observed heterozygosity and nucleot...
Hou L, Sulayman A, Zeng Y, Zhou L, Aimaier A, Kader A, Shi L.The study of horse genetic diversity is imperative for informing conservation strategies, safeguarding ancestral lineages, and enhancing breed adaptability to environmental and disease pressures. This study employed 13 microsatellite markers with fluorescent-labeled capillary electrophoresis to analyze the genetic diversity of the Kyrgyz horse ( = 30) and Barkol horse ( = 30) for the first time, comparing them with three other indigenous horse breeds ( = 30 per breed) from Xinjiang, China. A total of 208 alleles were detected. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) results from GenAlEx 6.51...
Karlau A, Azcona F, Molina A, Trigo P, Sánchez-Serrano JP, Demyda-Peyrás S.The Peruano de Paso is a horse breed renowned for its smooth gait, traditionally selected based on breeders' empirical knowledge. Recently, the frequency of chestnut horses, a recessive trait, has increased substantially within the official studbook. This study evaluated whether preference for chestnut coat colour has influenced morphological traits and genetic diversity within the breed. A total of 8376 records of seven morphological traits, collected by the Peruano de Paso Breeders Association over eight years, were analysed, along with a pedigree including 41,357 individuals. Morphological ...
Duderstadt S, Distl O.Dülmen wild horses are kept in a fenced wooden and marsh area around Dülmen in Westphalia, Germany, since 1856. Previous analyses supported early genetic divergence from other domesticated horse populations and the Przewalski horse. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate genetic diversity using high-density genomic data. Methods: We collected 337 one-year-old male Dülmen wild horses, captured at 12 annual auctions, for genotyping on the Illumina GGP Equine Plus Beadchip. All analyses were performed for 63,123 autosomal SNPs. Results: On average, each horse had 27.96 ROH with...
Kim D, Lee S, Oyungerel B, Cho G.This study aimed to generate information for parentage testing in horse breeds using microsatellites (STRs) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Genotype data were obtained from 189 horse hair root samples, including 38 Thoroughbreds (TBs), 17 Jeju horses (JHs), 20 Quarter horses (QHs), 21 American Miniatures (AMs), and 93 Mongolian horses (MHs), using 15 STR markers and 71 SNP markers. Comparative analysis revealed that the mean expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.468 (AM) to 0.491 (JH) for SNPs and from 0.695 (TB) to 0.791 (MH) for STRs. The mean observed heterozygosity ranged from ...
Dumičić I, Ostojić L.Like other domesticated species, most notably dogs, horses have been reported to follow human gestures and successfully use them to gain rewards in an object choice task. Empirical support for the hypothesis that a domain-general mechanism may underlie this ability comes from studies in which horses have successfully solved the task by using not just a human pointing gesture but also an arbitrary physical cue, namely a wooden marker. Here, we replicated the two conditions in which these two cues were used by Proops et al. (2010) with two critical changes: first, we positioned the marker out of...
de Lara NSS, Weiss RR, Oba E, Kozicki LE, Souza FA, Bergstein-Galan TG, Muehlbauer E, Silvestri M, de Lima PHL, Vaz ES.In equine reproduction, determining foetal sex is of economic and strategic importance, but currently available methods are often invasive, costly, or require specialised expertise. This study aimed to assess whether plasma progesterone concentrations could serve as a predictive tool for foetal sex determination in Criollo mares between the 4th and 8th months of gestation and to determine whether these measurements could identify foetal sex. Blood samples were collected at 30-day intervals from 17 Crioula mares between 114 days and 240 days of gestation. Maternal plasma progesterone concen...
Nilsson E, Moazzami AA, Lindberg JE, Jansson A.Feeding a high amount of starch-rich grains is common practice for performance horses even though the horse has evolved to eat a grass based, i.e. low starch diet. To our knowledge, there are no studies using metabolomics to investigate the effects of a high-starch diet in horses. In this study we investigated differences in the plasma metabolic profile of 6 Standardbred horses fed a no-starch, forage-only (F) diet or a high-starch forage-concentrate (FC) diet for 29 days, respectively in a cross-over design. Postprandial plasma samples were collected on the morning of day 25 of each dietary ...
Steensma MJ, Doekes HP, Derks MFL, Ducro BJ.In Friesian horses, withers height is an important trait as a minimum has been set to be eligible to the studbook. Several loci for withers height have been identified in horses. However, withers height has not been studied in the Friesian horse. Therefore, our aim was to identify loci associated with withers height in the Friesian horse population. We performed a genome-wide association study using 70 K SNP data of 2192 Friesian horses. We found ECA1 and ECA9 to be significantly associated with withers height, explaining 19.6% and 3.5% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. In other hors...
Siedler C, Zinkanel YM, Schramel JP, Peham C.The interaction between equine hooves and various ground surfaces is a critical factor for injury prevention and performance in modern equestrian sports. Accurate measurement of surface grip is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of different hoof protection systems. This study introduces the Vienna Grip Tester (VGT), a novel sensor-based device developed to quantify rotational resistance-an important parameter for assessing hoof-surface interaction. The VGT utilizes a torque wrench and spring-loaded mechanism to simulate lateral hoof movements under a standardized vertical load (~700 N...
Luštrek B, Šimon M, Turk K, Bogičević S, Potočnik K.In small, closed populations such as the Lipizzan horse, maintaining genetic diversity while limiting inbreeding is a key challenge in conservation breeding. The Lipizzan is an indigenous Slovenian breed with a small population and restricted gene flow from other subpopulations. Inbreeding is traditionally monitored with pedigree-based coefficients, but these often underestimate realised autozygosity, particularly when pedigree depth is limited. This study compared pedigree-based inbreeding (F_PED) with four genomic estimators (F_HOM, F_ROH, F_HBD, F_GRM) in 329 Slovenian Lipizzan horses genot...
Lewczuk D, Wypchło M, Hecold M, Buczkowska R, Korwin-Kossakowska A.Finding the causative mutations for musculoskeletal system development and health status is of a higher priority for all sport horse breeders' associations. Of the regulating proteins involved in animal ossification, 15 gene polymorphisms were chosen to be identified as connected with the nine fetlock and 14 hock bone structures measurements of 198 horses. All measurements were taken using X-rays of the limbs, which were available at the beginning and end of the horse training. The analysis of variance (GLM, SAS program) was performed taking into account identified training and horse-connected...
