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.
Magalhaes HB, Canisso IF.Practitioners are frequently requested to diagnose and stage pregnancy in donkeys with unknown breeding dates; however, scant work has been done to stage pregnancy in the species. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between measurements of fetal aortic, thoracic, and heartbeat with gestational age in donkeys carrying and delivering healthy foals. Multiparous Dezhou donkeys (n = 50) ranging from 4 to 16 years were enrolled in the study by 150 days of gestation. Transabdominal ultrasonography coupled with a 3.5 MHz sectorial convex transducer was performed at 30 day-interv...
Lo Feudo CM, Stucchi L, Cavicchioli P, Stancari G, Conturba B, Zucca E, Ferrucci F.To evaluate the association between the severity of dynamic upper airway obstruction (DUAO) and selected fitness parameters in Standardbred racehorses measured by treadmill test. 191 Standardbred racehorses that underwent a standardized diagnostic protocol for poor performance evaluation between 2002 and 2021 at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Milan. Horses underwent a diagnostic protocol including clinical examination, lameness evaluation, laboratory analyses, ECG, resting upper airway endoscopy, metabolic incremental treadmill test, high-speed treadmill endoscopy, postexercis...
Logan AA, Nielsen BD, Hiney KM, Robison CI, Manfredi JM, Buskirk DD, Popovich JM.Circular exercise is used in many equestrian disciplines and this study aimed to determine if circle diameter impacts juvenile animal forelimb bone and joint health. On day 0, 24 calves at 9 weeks of age were assigned the following exercise treatments: small circle (12 m clockwise), large circle (18-m clockwise), treadmill, or non-exercised control. Exercise was initiated at 1.1−1.5 m/s for 5 min/d and increased 5 min weekly until reaching 30 min/d. On day 49, synovial fluid was collected from multiple joints, cartilage was collected from the proximal surface of fused third and fourth metaca...
Lelláková M, Lešková L, Florián M, Mesarčová L, Skurková L, Peťková B, Takáčová D, Kottferová J.The determination of cortisol concentrations in animal hair appears to be a relatively simple and non-invasive method of assessing chronic stress. This method has advantages but it also has some drawbacks. We discovered that there are specific coat properties and individual factors in animlas that can affect corisol levels and skew the interpretation of results. We removed horsehair from 8 different areas of the body (chest, left saddle, right saddle, right thoracic fetlock, and left thoracic fetlock, the mane was also sampled at the withers, just behind the ears, and the tail strand) in 31 ho...
Beazley SG, Focken A, Fernandez-Parra R, Thomas KL, Adler A, Duke-Novakovski T.To determine changes in distribution of lung ventilation with increasing intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) from carbon dioxide (CO) insufflation in standing sedated horses. Methods: Prospective experimental study. Methods: A group of six healthy adult horses. Methods: Each horse was sedated with acepromazine, detomidine and butorphanol and sedation maintained with a detomidine infusion. The horse was restrained in a stocks system and a 32 electrode electrical impedance tomography (EIT) belt was wrapped around the thorax at the fifth-sixth intercostal space. EIT images and arterial blood samples f...
Data in briefApril 1, 2022
Volume 42 108123 doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2022.108123
Gmel AI, Gmel G, Weishaupt MA, Neuditschko M.This article presents the data obtained from the scoring of 24 stallions of the Franches-Montagnes (FM) horse breed by six experts of this breed. The experts scored six traits at walk and eight at trot from the video recordings of these stallions walking and trotting on a treadmill during an incremental speed test. The scores were given on a scale of one to nine. All experts scored the same videos twice (two scoring tests) with a time interval of two years, and without feedback from the first scoring. Video sequences were presented in a different order between first and second scoring. The int...
Ničová K, Bartošová J.This study aimed to identify factors that can influence show-jumping performance during top level competitions in the Western European League (2017/2018, CSI5*). The performance data of 144 riders and 222 horses were obtained from video records (FEI TV/ website). Riders with horses achieved a total of 9114 jumping-efforts over 320 obstacles including oxers (n = 142), oxers with water (n = 15), triple bars (n = 6), verticals (n = 136), verticals with water (n = 14) and walls (n = 7). Obstacles in the first round (FR) or in jump off (JO) were standing either as single (n = 6290) or as a combinat...
Huricha , Kawai M, Inose Y, Yamada F, Ninomiya S.In this study, we investigated maternal effects on the growth of Hokkaido native horses kept outdoors throughout the year. We used the data on body weight (BW), height at withers (HW), heart girth (HG), and cannon circumference (CC) of 517 foals during the first year of life to (1) examine the growth patterns by comparing six linear mixed models and (2) analyze the maternal effect on BW, HW, HG, and CC for each month by estimating variance components. The segmented polynomial third-order regression equation was selected as the best model for all the traits. The estimated proportion of variance...
Lançoni R, Celeghini ECC, Gonella-Diaza AM, Júnior VG, de Carvalho CPT, Zoca GB, Garcia-Oliveros LN, Batissaco L, Oliveira LZ, de Arruda RP.This study aimed to assess the semen ubiquitin levels of stallions with good (GF) and poor semen freezability (PF) and to evaluate the relationship between sperm ubiquitination and sperm morphological defects. Five ejaculates from eight adult stallions (n = 40) were collected and cryopreserved. Then, the ubiquitin level in equine sperm cells was assessed by immunohistochemistry with epifluorescence microscopy, and sperm morphology was assessed by differential interference contrast microscopy. Sperm cells were classified according to the intensity (classification 1: from I to IV; I = very l...
Kinsella HM, Hostnik LD, Snyder HA, Mazur SE, Kamr AM, Burns TA, Mossbarger JC, Toribio RE.The equine neonate is considered to have impaired glucose tolerance due to delayed maturation of the pancreatic endocrine system. Few studies have investigated insulin sensitivity in newborn foals using dynamic testing methods. The objective of this study was to assess insulin sensitivity by comparing the insulin-modified frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (I-FSIGTT) between neonatal foals and adult horses. This study was performed on healthy neonatal foals (n = 12), 24 to 60 hours of age, and horses (n = 8), 3 to 14 years of age using dextrose (300 mg/kg IV) and insulin (0....
Logan AA, Nielsen BD, Hallock DB, Robison CI, Popovich JM.A current trend in equine research is technology development to minimize the subjective nature of gait analysis. One such technology is the Tekscan Hoof System, which records force and area loaded by the hooves during motion. The objective of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of the Tekscan Hoof System between two sessions, and the recordings within those sessions. Four mature Standardbred geldings wore Tekscan Hoof System sensors on both front hooves, secured by glue-on shoes (SoundHorse Technologies). Horses were exercised in AM and PM sessions. In each session, horses ...
Logan AA, Nielsen BD, Robison CI, Hallock DB, Manfredi JM, Hiney KM, Buskirk DD, Popovich JM.Circular exercise can be used at varying gaits and diameters to exercise horses, with repeated use anecdotally relating to increased lameness. This work sought to characterize mean area, mean vertical force, and mean pressure of the front hooves while exercising in a straight line at the walk and trot, and small (10-m diameter) and large circles (15-m diameter) at the walk, trot, and canter. Nine mature horses wore TekscanTM Hoof Sensors on their forelimbs adhered with a glue-on shoe. Statistical analysis was performed in SAS 9.4 with fixed effects of leg, gait, and exercise type (PROC GLIMMIX...
Nasciutti NR, Garcia FG, da Silva ESM, de Miranda RL, Fontes LAR, Rosa JB, Headley SA, Mundim AV, Saut JPE.Several studies have demonstrated variations in peripartum blood biochemical analytes used to monitor the health status of mares and their foals of different breeds. Objective: We aimed to characterize the physiologic changes of peripartum energy and mineral metabolism in healthy Quarter Horse mares and their neonatal foals. Methods: Blood samples were initially collected from 17 mares on days 60 and 30 prepartum, and from mares and their foals on the day of parturition (after colostrum ingestion), and on days 15, 30, and 60 postpartum. The serum concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, magnesiu...
de Oliveira Bussiman F, Carvalho RSB, E Silva FF, Ventura RV, Ferraz JBS, Mattos EC, Eler JP, Balieiro JCC.Multitrait models can increase the accuracy of breeding value prediction and reduce bias due to selection by using traits measured before and after it has occurred. However, as the number of traits grows, a similar trend is expected for the number of parameters to be estimated, which directly affects the computing power and the amount of data required. The aim of the present study was to apply reduced rank (principal components model-PCM) and factor analytical models (FAM), to estimate (co)variance components for nineteen traits, jointly evaluated in a single analysis in Campolina horses. A to...
Kuroda T, Minamijima Y, Nomura M, Yamashita S, Yamada M, Nagata S, Mita H, Tamura N, Fukuda K, Kuwano A, Kusano K, Toutain PL, Sato F.For medication control in several jurisdictions, withdrawal time is the period of refrain from racing after drug administration. It is set by adding a safety period to an experimental detection time. However, there are no reports of statistical analyses of detection time for the determination of withdrawal time in flunixin meglumine-treated horses. Objective: To analyse the population pharmacokinetics of flunixin in horses through the generation of a dataset for detection time statistical analysis and predictions via Monte Carlo simulation. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Drug plasma and...
Joó K, Trúzsi RL, Kálmán CZ, Ács V, Jakab S, Bába A, Nielsen MK.In Hungary, equine parasite control is mostly based on traditional approaches involving rotational anthelmintic treatment at regular intervals. Almost no farms utilize fecal egg counts (FECs) on a regular basis to guide deworming treatments. This approach is certainly not sustainable and is the major factor responsible for the current high levels of anthelmintic resistance. The aims of this study were to statistically analyze risk factors associated with strongylid egg count magnitude and prevalence. Fecal samples and horse data (age, pasture history, stocking density, anthelmintic history) we...
Ortolani F, Scilimati N, Gialletti R, Menchetti L, Nannarone S.The purpose of this study was to describe the development and preliminary validation of a composite pain scale, called the Equine Ophthalmic Pain Scale (EOPS), to assess ocular pain in horses. Indicators associated with ocular pain were selected and classified as behavioural, physiological or ocular expressions. Eight horses diagnosed with ocular or adnexa diseases that required medical or surgical treatment were enrolled in the study (group P). The developed EOPS was applied at the baseline (T0) and 1 week later (T7). Moreover, the EOPS was applied twice, 1 week apart, to 15 healthy control h...
Rumpel AS, Alievi MM, Jardim Filho JO, Rozo CAC, Schuster LAH, da Silva AV, Ferreira MP.Physical activity has been widely investigated in horses to elucidate locomotion characteristics and behavior. However, research in real environment of training stables is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of training regimen on night time physical activity of racehorses. Physical activities of twenty animals were monitored during the night time using accelerometers. The animals were compared in terms of training regimen: horses subjected to training on continual days, and horses subjected to training on intermittent days; age and sex were also considered. The var...
Li XB, Huang XX, Zang CJ, Ma C, Chen KX, Zhao GD, Li Q, Li XY, Zhang WJ, Yang KL.There is little objective information concerning the effect of steam-flaked grains on foal's growth performance and faecal microbiota. To determine the effects of steam-flaked grains on foal's growth performance and faecal microbiota, faecal samples were collection from 18 foals which had been fed either corn, oat or barley diets over the 60 days of the experiment. Body weight and conformation measurements were collected. Next-generation sequencing of the V3 + V4 region of the 16 S rRNA gene was used to assess the microbial composition of faeces. Alpha diversity, Venn graph, Relative abun...
Lerch N, Cirulli F, Rochais C, Lesimple C, Guilbaud E, Contalbrigo L, Borgi M, Grandgeorge M, Hausberger M.Little is known about the impact of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on equids' perception of humans. In this study 172 equids, living in 12 riding centres, were submitted to a standardised human-horse relationship test: the motionless person test. Age, sex, type (horse/pony), housing, and feeding conditions of subjects were recorded. Overall, 17 equids worked in EAI, 95 in riding school lessons (RS), and 60 in both (EAI-RS). There were high inter-individual variations in the number of interactive behaviours directed towards the experimenter: negative binomial general linear models showed t...
Seabra JC, Dittrich JR, Vale MMD.Researchers believe that the development and prevalence of abnormal behaviors in horses may be caused by several environmental and biological factors, and the literature offers numerous reports that discuss the causes and effects of stereotypies in these animals. In this light, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific literature, summarizing the main risk factors associated with the development of abnormal behaviors in horses. The searches were conducted over the course of four years in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. The publications reviewed were ...
Berreta A, Burbick CR, Alexander T, Kogan C, Kopper JJ.Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that confer a health benefit to the host when administered in adequate amounts, therefore the presence of viable microorganisms is essential. Previous studies reported inconsistencies when comparing contents of probiotics marketed for use in animals with label claims. However, to the author's knowledge the variability of the same product between different lots has yet to be evaluated. The objective of this observational study was to evaluate the content and inter-lot variability of commercial equine probiotic products using culture dependent and in...
Mouloodi S, Rahmanpanah H, Gohari S, Burvill C, Tse KM, Davies HMS.Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are fascinating interdisciplinary scientific domains where machines are provided with an approximation of human intelligence. The conjecture is that machines are able to learn from existing examples, and employ this accumulated knowledge to fulfil challenging tasks such as regression analysis, pattern classification, and prediction. The horse biomechanical models have been identified as an alternative tool to investigate the effects of mechanical loading and induced deformations on the tissues and structures in humans. Many reported invest...
Hopster K, Hurcombe SDA.Bioreactance is the continuous analysis of transthoracic voltage variation in response to an applied high frequency transthoracic current and was recently introduced for non-invasive cardiac output measurement (NICOM). We evaluated NICOM compared to thermodilution (TD) in adult horses. Six healthy horses were used for this prospective, blinded, experimental study. Cardiac output (CO) measurements were performed simultaneously using TD and the bioreactance method. Different cardiac output scenarios were established using xylazine (0.5 mg/kg IV) and dobutamine (1.5-3 mcg/kg/min). Statistical ana...
Gündemir O, Szara T, Pazvant G, Erdikmen DO, Duro S, Perez W.In this study, it was aimed to determine the statistical differences between Arabian horses and Thoroughbred horses based on X-ray images of forelimb digital bones. Latero-medial X-ray images of digital bones of thoracic limbs were taken of 25 Arabian horses and 50 Thoroughbred healthy horses. The difference between males and females within the breed was statistically analyzed as well. Nine measurements and three indexes taken from phalanges of thoracic limbs were used. Thoroughbred horses did not differ significantly between sexes, as indicated by the ANOVA. For the Arabian horses, the length...
Charnock LN, Keys DA, McMullen RJ.Identify ocular findings associated with blunt ocular trauma to aid in differentiation from other equine ocular diseases. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Medical records of horses at the Equine Clinic Munich-Riem, Munich, Germany and Auburn University, College of Veterinary Medicine were reviewed. Age, sex, breed, laterality, and clinical findings on ophthalmic examination, as well as an observed (confirmed) or unobserved (suspected) history of trauma, were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed to identify any correlation between clinical signs and blunt ocular traum...
Smit IH, Hernlund E, Brommer H, van Weeren PR, Rhodin M, Serra Bragança FM.Gait kinematics measured during equine gait analysis are typically evaluated by analysing (asymmetry-based) discrete variables (eg, peak values) obtained from continuous kinematic signals (eg, timeseries of datapoints). However, when used for the assessment of complex cases of lameness, such as bilateral lameness, discrete variable analysis might overlook relevant functional adaptations. Objective: The overall aim of this paper is to compare continuous and discrete data analysis techniques to evaluate kinematic gait adaptations to lameness. Methods: Method comparison. Methods: Sixteen healthy ...
Ohnuma K, Uchida T, Leung GN, Ueda T, Obara T, Ishii H.In the context of doping control, conventional direct chemical testing detects only a limited scope of target substances in equine biological samples. To expand the ability to detect doping agents and their detection windows, metabolomics has recently become a common approach for monitoring alteration of biomarkers caused by doping agents in relevant metabolic pathways. In horse racing, remarkable changes in metabolic profiles between the rest state and racing are likely to affect the identification of doping biomarkers. Previously, we reported a limited number of significantly upregulated met...
Collar EM, Duesterdieck-Zellmer KF, Huber MJ, Semevolos SA, Parker JE, Husby KA.To assess outcomes and behavior changes associated with bilateral laparoscopic ovariectomies. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Fifty-one equids. Methods: Medical records were evaluated from equid bilateral laparoscopic ovariectomies from January 2012 to October 2018 with a potential of 6 months follow-up. Follow-up information obtained by telephone interviews included behavior before and after surgery. Likelihood ratio chi-square tests and odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI were calculated where applicable, with statistical significance at p < .05. Results: Bilateral ovariectomy was pe...
Su TW, Choi I, Feng J, Huang K, Ozcan A.Using a high-throughput optical tracking technique that is based on partially-coherent digital in-line holography, here we report a detailed analysis of the statistical behavior of horse sperms' three-dimensional (3D) swimming dynamics. This dual-color and dual-angle lensfree imaging platform enables us to track individual 3D trajectories of ∼1000 horse sperms at sub-micron level within a sample volume of ∼9μL at a frame rate of 143 frames per second (FPS) and collect thousands of sperm trajectories within a few hours for statistical analysis of their 3D dynamics. Using this high-throughp...
Amann RP.Apparent fertility of a male or group of females is considered frequently by veterinarians or animal scientists. Unfortunately, concepts of experimental design and statistics impacting validity and interpretation of values for average pregnancy rate frequently are ignored. The magnitude of this problem was documented by examination of published papers; 51 of 67 (76%) were considered flawed for one or more reasons. The discussion considers why: (a) conclusions from most published fertility studies reporting no significant difference due to treatment(s) are suspect, because too few males and/or ...
Mosing M, Auer U, MacFarlane P, Bardell D, Schramel JP, Böhm SH, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R, Waldmann AD.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on regional distribution of ventilation and dead space in anaesthetized horses. Methods: Randomized, experimental, crossover study. Methods: A total of eight healthy adult horses. Methods: Horses were anaesthetized twice with isoflurane in 50% oxygen and medetomidine as continuous infusion in dorsal recumbency, and administered in random order either CPAP (8 cmHO) or NO CPAP for 3 hours. Electrical impedance tomography (and volumetric capnography (VCap) measurements were performed every 30 minutes. L...
Anderson SL, Devick I, Bracamonte JL, Hendrick S, Barber SM, Carmalt JL, Wilson DG.To report the occurrence of, and risk factors associated with, incisional complications of equine ventral median celiotomies closed with USP 7 polydioxanone (7PD). Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Horses (n = 73; 75 celiotomies). Methods: Medical records (2000-2010) were retrieved and reviewed for horses that had a ventral celiotomy closed with 7PD and survived ≥14 days. Follow-up (>1 year) was obtained from the medical record, owner, or referring veterinarian. Independent variables were selected based on risk factors identified in previous studies, perceived clinical relevan...
Nazari-Ghadikolaei A, Fikse F, Gelinder Viklund Å, Eriksson S.Assessment protocols to describe the various aspects of conformation, gait and jumping traits on a linear scale were introduced at young horse tests for Swedish Warmblood horses in 2013. The traits scored on a linear scale are assumed to be less subjective and more easily compared across populations than the traditional evaluated traits that are scored relative to the breeding goal. However, the resulting number of traits is considerable, and several of the traits are correlated. The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelationship between the different evaluated and linearly scored ...
Sénèque E, Morisset S, Lesimple C, Hausberger M.The study of animal behavior, especially regarding welfare, needs the development of tools to identify, quantify and compare animal postures with interobserver reliability. While most studies subjectively describe animal postures, or quantify only limited parts of the body, the usage of geometric morphometrics has allowed for the description of horses' and pigs' upper body outline and the comparison of postures from different populations thanks to robust statistical analysis. We have attempted here to optimize the geometric morphometrics (GM) method already used in horses by introducing the ou...
Ortolani F, Scilimati N, Gialletti R, Menchetti L, Nannarone S.The purpose of this study was to describe the development and preliminary validation of a composite pain scale, called the Equine Ophthalmic Pain Scale (EOPS), to assess ocular pain in horses. Indicators associated with ocular pain were selected and classified as behavioural, physiological or ocular expressions. Eight horses diagnosed with ocular or adnexa diseases that required medical or surgical treatment were enrolled in the study (group P). The developed EOPS was applied at the baseline (T0) and 1 week later (T7). Moreover, the EOPS was applied twice, 1 week apart, to 15 healthy control h...
Mota MD, Abrahão AR, Oliveira HN.The aim of the present study was to investigate genetic parameters for racing time in Thoroughbred horses racing at distances between 1000 and 1600 m subdivided into 100-m intervals. The data provided by TURFETOTAL Ltda comprised races that occurred in the Gávea and Cidade Jardim race tracks over a period of 11 years (1992-2002) and consisted of 32,145 races and 238,890 time records. The variance components necessary to obtain the heritability and repeatability estimates of the traits studied were estimated with the MTDFREML program, and animal age at race (3 years old or younger, 4, 5 and ol...
Siegers EW, de Ruijter-Villani M, van Doorn DA, Stout TAE, Roelfsema E.Health risks associated with obesity are more likely a factor of the localization of fat excess, rather than of elevated BW per se. The aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to determine the effect of a long-term high energy diet on BW, fat accumulation and localization. Eight Shetland pony mares, 3 to 7 years old, were randomly divided into a control and a high energy (HE) diet group fed either maintenance or double maintenance energy requirements (200% net energy (NE)) for two consecutive summers, with a low energy diet in the winter in between. Body condition score (BCS) did ...
Czycholl I, Klingbeil P, Krieter J.Objective tools for the assessment of animal welfare are needed. The present study analyzed the interobserver reliability of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) welfare assessment protocol for horses to further enhance knowledge concerning reliability. Therefore, two trained observers conducted 18 assessments on farm at the same time and on the same animals. The results were compared at individual level by calculation of Cohen's kappa (κ), weighted kappa (κ), and prevalence-adjusted, bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Spearman rank correlation coefficient (RS), intraclass correlation coefficient ...
Rudman R, Keiper RR.The summer body condition of 47 adult feral ponies on Assateague Island (off the coast of Maryland, USA) was assessed in June 1988 using a visual body condition scoring system. Winter body condition for 36 of the ponies was assessed in February and March, 1989. The ponies were categorised by gender, reproductive status and location on the island, and body condition scores of the ponies in each category were then compared by statistical analyses. No significant seasonal differences were found in the body conditions of the ponies. However, body condition of stallions was better than that of mare...
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...
Flatland B, Breickner LC, Fry MM.The Heska Dri-Chem 4000 uses dry slide technology to evaluate serum or plasma. No previous independent performance evaluation is published to the authors' knowledge. Objective: The objectives were to (1) characterize analytical performance of a Dri-Chem 4000 by measuring precision and bias, (2) compare analytical performance of that Dri-Chem 4000 unit with a predetermined quality requirement, and (3) determine whether statistical QC of the Dri-Chem 4000 is possible using the 13s control rule. Methods: Sixteen analytes were measured using plasma from dogs, cats, and horses. Coefficient of varia...
Underwood C, Norton JL, Nolen-Walston RD, Dallap-Schaer BL, Boston R, Slack J.Hypohydration causes transient echocardiographic changes in pigs, dogs, humans, and cats. These changes mask the diagnosis of some cardiac diseases (valvular regurgitation, dilated cardiomyopathy) and promote the diagnosis of others (hypertropic cardiomyopathy and infiltrative disease), thus inhibiting accurate echocardiographic evaluation. Objective: To describe the echocardiographic changes associated with hypohydration in normal horses. Methods: Ten adult horses without detectable cardiac disease. Methods: Experimental study. Echocardiographic examinations were performed on horses in the eu...
Leclercq A, Lundblad J, Persson-Sjodin E, Ask K, Zetterberg E, Hernlund E, Haubro Andersen P, Rhodin M.The prevalence of vertical asymmetries is high in "owner-sound" warmblood riding horses, however the origin of these asymmetries is unknown. This study investigated correlations between vertical asymmetries and motor laterality. Young warmblood riding horses (N = 65), perceived as free from lameness were evaluated on three visits, each comprising objective gait analysis (inertial measurement units system) and a rider questionnaire on perceived sidedness of the horse. A subgroup (N = 40) of horses were also subjected to a forelimb protraction preference test intended as an assessment of motor l...
Wilson DA, Baker GJ, Pijanowski GJ, Boero MJ, Badertscher RR.Suspensory ligaments (SL) from 32 Thoroughbreds and 32 Standardbreds were collected to evaluate the variation in muscle content with respect to age, breed, sex, limb, and use. Six transverse sections, each 3 to 5 mm thick, were obtained from each SL. Four sections were taken from the body of the SL and 1 from the midportion of each branch. Sections were stained with van Gieson picric acid-fuchsin solution, then photographed, and black-and-white slides were made from the processed negatives. The transverse-sectional area of the SL and the contained muscle were determined by use of a computer wi...
Putnová L, Štohl R.Considering the extensive data sets and statistical techniques, animal breeding embodies a branch of machine learning that has a constantly increasing impact on breeding. In our study, information regarding the potential of machine learning and data mining within a large set of horses and breeds is presented. The individual assignment methods and factors influencing the success rate of the procedure are compared at the Czech population scale. The fixation index values ranged from 0.057 (HMS1) to 0.144 (HTG6), and the overall genetic differentiation amounted to 8.9% among the breeds. The highes...
García-Ballesteros S, Varona L, Valera M, Gutiérrez JP, Cervantes I.Ranking trait was used as a selection criterion for competition horses to estimate racing performance. In the literature the most common approaches to estimate breeding values are the linear or threshold statistical models. However, recent studies have shown that a Thurstonian approach was able to fix the race effect (competitive level of the horses that participate in the same race), thus suggesting a better prediction accuracy of breeding values for ranking trait. The aim of this study was to compare the predictability of linear, threshold and Thurstonian approaches for genetic evaluation of...
De Cozar M, Sherlock C, Knowles E, Mair T.Acute-phase proteins may help assess the nature and severity of lesions and outcome in horses undergoing colic surgery. Objective: To compare serum amyloid A and plasma fibrinogen concentrations ([SAA] and [fibrinogen]) in the immediate post-operative period after exploratory celiotomy and determine their value in assessment of post-operative complications and survival to discharge. Methods: Observational study. Methods: This study included horses over 1 year of age undergoing exploratory celiotomy. Surgical procedures, lesions, post-operative care, complications and survival to discharge wer...
Jocelyn NA, Wylie CE, Lean M, Barrelet A, Foote AK.Tracheal wash sample neutrophilia is common in lower airway inflammation of various causes; however, relevance of cytomorphological features to culture of bacterial pathogens has not been established. Objective: To investigate whether the presence of nondegenerate or degenerate neutrophils in tracheal washes is associated with culture of bacteria and, if so, whether this is influenced by age or temporal factors. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Tracheal wash samples submitted to Rossdales LLP from 1/1/2013 to 31/7/2015 were evaluated using set criteria. Neutrophilia and degenerate neut...
Mama KR, Steffey EP, Pascoe PJ.This study provides baseline information on the potential use of propofol as a general anesthetic for horses. Using a Latin square design, propofol (2, 4, and 8 mg/kg) was administered intravenously on three separate occasions to six mature horses. Information about anesthetic induction, duration, and recovery was recorded along with results of rectal temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, pHa, PaCO2 and PaO2. Statistical analysis included a mixed model analysis of variance, a general linear model analysis and least square means test for post hoc comparisons. A P < .05 was considered si...
Kamiński S, Hering DM, Jaworski Z, Zabolewicz T, Ruść A.The aim of this study was to assess the inbreeding coefficient of Polish Konik horses based on runs of homozygosity (ROH). Ninety six horses kept in 6 herds located across Poland were genotyped with the use of EquineSNP60 BeadChip (Illumina). SNP markers with a Minor Allele Frequency lower than 0.01 and SNPs assigned to chromosome X or Y were excluded from the study. A total of 50 708 SNPs were included for statistical analysis (SVS software, Golden Helix). The analysis showed that the population is in genetic equilibrium, with He and Ho estimates both equal to 0.3086. Seven categories of Runs...
Vijarnsorn M, Riley CB, Ryan DA, Rose PL, Shaw RA.To determine the feasibility of the use of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy within the midinfrared range to differentiate synovial fluid samples of joints with osteochondrosis from those of control samples. Methods: 33 horses with osteochondrosis of the tarsocrural joint and 31 horses free of tarsocrural joint disease. Methods: FTIR spectroscopy of synovial fluid was used. Sixty-four synovial fluid samples from the tarsocrural joint were collected. Of these, 33 samples were from horses with radiographic evidence of osteochondrosis of the tarsocrural joint and 31 from control join...
Broux B, De Clercq D, Vera L, Ven S, Deprez P, Decloedt A, van Loon G.Heart rate variability (HRV) parameters, and especially RMSSD (root mean squared successive differences in RR interval), could distinguish atrial fibrillation (AF) from sinus rhythm(SR) in horses, as was demonstrated in a previous study. If heart rate monitors (HRM) automatically calculating RMSSD could also distinguish AF from SR, they would be useful for the monitoring of AF recurrence. The objective of the study was to assess whether RMSSD values obtained from a HRM can differentiate AF from SR in horses. Furthermore, the impact of artifact correction algorithms, integrated in the analyses ...
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...
Zedda M, Lepore G, Manca P, Chisu V, Farina V.Bone microstructure of domestic herbivores is still not completely understood. Indeed, works focused on the bone histology of numerous Mammalian species frequently led to misunderstandings because of the high number of variations such as the kind of bone, section orientation, species, breed and age. Moreover, attempts to identify the species in archaeozoological studies by a mere qualitative approach have not been encouraging and in recent years quantitative methods, based on image processing and statistical analysis, have appeared. The present study was undertaken to determine whether morphom...
Weber CD, Nguyen AR, Lefering R, Hofman M, Hildebrand F, Pape HC.The objective of this study was to investigate the nature, management, and outcome of major injuries related to equestrian sports and to define the at-risk groups for serious and life-threatening injuries. We analyzed demographic, pre-hospital, clinical, and outcome data from an international population-based prospective trauma database (TraumaRegister DGU®). Patients with major injuries (Injury Severity Score [ISS] ≥9 points) related to equestrian sports activities were included (January 1, 1993, to December 31, 2012). Clinical and outcome parameters were stratified for four different type...
St George L, Clayton HM, Sinclair J, Richards J, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ.Selection and training practices for jumping horses have not yet been validated using objective performance analyses. This study aimed to quantify the differences and relationships between movement and muscle activation strategies in horses with varying jump technique to identify objective jumping performance indicators. Surface electromyography (sEMG) and three-dimensional kinematic data were collected from horses executing a submaximal jump. Kinematic variables were calculated based on equestrian-derived performance indicators relating to impulsion, engagement and joint articulation. Horses ...
Hobbs SJ, Robinson MA, Clayton HM.Ground reaction forces (GRF) measured during equine gait analysis are typically evaluated by analyzing discrete values obtained from continuous force-time data for the vertical, longitudinal and transverse GRF components. This paper describes a simple, temporo-spatial method of displaying and analyzing sagittal plane GRF vectors. In addition, the application of statistical parametric mapping (SPM) is introduced to analyse differences between contra-lateral fore and hindlimb force-time curves throughout the stance phase. The overall aim of the study was to demonstrate alternative methods of eva...
Binns MM, Boehler DA, Bailey E, Lear TL, Cardwell JM, Lambert DH.Changes in the inbreeding coefficient, F, in the Thoroughbred horse over the past 45 years have been investigated by genotyping 467 Thoroughbred horses (born between 1961 and 2006) using the Illumina Equine SNP50 bead chip, which comprises 54,602 SNPs uniformly distributed across the equine genome. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient, r, between the year of birth and F was estimated. The results indicate that inbreeding in Thoroughbreds has increased over the past 40 years, with r = 0.24, P < 0.001 demonstrating that there is a highly significant, though relatively weak correlation be...
