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.
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...
Baldwin JL, Cooper WL, Vanderwall DK, Erb HN.Serum samples for determination of IgG concentration were obtained between postpartum hours 18 and 48 from 132 Standardbred foals. Results of the IgG assay were not known to farm personnel. None of the foals was given plasma IV for treatment of hypogammaglobulinemia. Foal health records were examined retrospectively to determine prevalence of infectious-type illness (foal treatment days [FTD]), prevalence of life-threatening infectious illness (foal treatment days-serious condition [FTD-SC]), and number of diseases (NOD) per foal. Values for FTD, FTD-SC, and NOD per foal were compiled for the ...
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...
Vörös K, Holmes JR, Gibbs C.This study was performed on 15 horses to validate the cardiac anatomy as imaged with two dimensional echocardiography (2DE) and to determine the accuracy of intracardiac measurements. 2DE images were recorded in five horses in life with a Diasonics DRF100 ultrasound system and a 3.5 MHz transducer in different tomographic planes. After slaughter, the hearts were fixed in 10 per cent formalin. To compare in vivo and in vitro results, the specimens were suspended in a water-filled tank and 2DE images were made using the same transducer positions as in life. In vitro 2DE and autopsy measurements ...
Pascoe PJ, Ducharme NG, Ducharme GR, Lumsden JH.In order to determine which variables are useful and accurate in estimating prognosis in horses with abdominal pain, data were analyzed from 231 horses presented at a veterinary teaching hospital. Using multiple stepwise discriminant analysis in a recursive partition model, we obtained a decision protocol that identified survivors and nonsurvivors. The prevalence of survivors was 61% in this population. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of this model were 71, 83, 87 and 65%, respectively. This decision protocol was validated by Jackknife classification a...
Lord PF, Croft MA.Echocardiography may be an accurate method of measuring left ventricular (LV) volumes and mass of the horse's heart. If so, studies of the heart size and hypertrophy would be possible. This study evaluated geometric models of the external and internal LV shapes, to determine which could be applied to echocardiographic measurements. We preserved 30 horses' hearts and measured their dimensions and cross sectional areas. These measurements were entered into seven formulae representing different geometric models of the ventricle and its chamber. We derived a correction factor to estimate the long ...
Sweeney CR, Soma LR, Maxson AD, Thompson JE, Holcombe SJ, Spencer PA.The effects of furosemide on the racing times of 79 horses without exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) and 52 horses with EIPH were investigated. Racing times were adjusted to 1-mile equivalent racing times by 2 speed handicapping methods, and analysis of covariance was used to adjust actual racing times by winning time and distance for each race. All 3 methods of determining racing time indicated that geldings without EIPH had significantly faster racing times (P less than 0.05) when given furosemide before racing than when furosemide was not given before racing. Females and colts wi...
Loch W, Worthy K, Ireland F.Sixteen non-pregnant pony mares were divided into four groups of similar age and bodyweight (bwt). Groups were randomly assigned to one of four treatments consisting of oral administration of perphenazine (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg bwt, phenothiazine (10 mg/kg bwt) and a control group. Blood samples were taken by jugular venepuncture and plasma prolactin concentrations measured using an homologous assay for equine prolactin. Analysis of variance was conducted on data designed as a split plot over time. Perphenazine given orally (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg bwt) increased plasma prolactin concentrations when mea...
López-Rivero JL, Agüera E, Rodríguez-Barbudo MV, Galisteo AM, Morales-López JL.Samples taken from the middle gluteal muscle of 95 untrained adult horses of different ages and sex were subjected to histochemical analysis using the myosin adenosine triphosphatase (m-ATPase) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR) staining techniques. Fibres were classified into types I, IIA and IIB according to m-ATPase activity after preincubation at pH 4.4. The percentage of FT (Fast-Twitch Glycolytic) fibres and the proportion of IIB fibres with "high" and "low" oxidative capacity were determined in serial sections stained for NADH-TR. Statistical analysis ...
Jones RS, Lawrence TL, Veevers A, Cleave N, Hall J.Fifty-three horses, all but two of them over two years of age and varying in type, sex and liveweight (230 to 707 kg) were weighed and seven different body measurements were recorded in duplicate by a single operator. The best overall prediction of liveweight using an equation with two variables was found to be: liveweight (kg) = (umbilical girth [cm])1.78 X (length of body from tuber ischii to elbow [cm]0.97/3011). This equation had an adjusted R2 value of 94.9 per cent and was derived from the pooled data, because differences of sex, type and weight did not significantly affect the relations...
Copland VS, Hildebrand SV, Hill T, Wong P, Brock N.Blood pressure during anesthesia and surgery was compared for 2 groups of horses. Group A, consisting of 23 horses, had a tourniquet placed on the distal portion of a limb. The other group of 20 horses (group B) had surgery of comparable nature and duration as did group-A horses, but a tourniquet was not used. There was a statistical difference (P less than 0.05) in the peak systolic arterial blood pressure between the groups; group-A horses had a mean (+/- SEM) peak of 151 +/- 6 mm of Hg and group-B horses had a peak of 118 +/- 4 mm of Hg. In addition, group-A horses had immediate decrease in...
Craig AM, Blythe LL, Lassen ED, Rowe KE, Barrington R, Slizeski M.Fluctuations of serum vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), cholesterol, and total lipids were monitored in 12 horses at 3-hour intervals for 72 hours. Mean coefficients of variation were 12, 5, and 15%, respectively. Statistical analyses were used to conclude that instrumentation error was accountable for only a small portion of the vitamin E variation. Results indicated that a single serum sample assay is an unsatisfactory indicator of vitamin E status in horses. These data have clinical application in the evaluation of horses suspected to be affected with equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy. Th...
Berndtson WE.Data from testes of 16, 2- to 3-yr-old stallions and 34 yearling beef bulls were utilized in a components of variance approach to calculate the number of observations required per testis and(or) the number of animals required per treatment group to provide experiments of known sensitivity and precision, where treatment was to be assessed by one of several endpoints. The latter included paired testes weight, seminiferous tubular diameter, the number of germ cells per seminiferous tubular cross-section, or the number of elongated spermatids per gram of testicular parenchyma or per testis. For al...
Bianchi M.In 13 horses from both sexes, between 5 months and 18 years of age, in good nutritional state, statistical evaluations of fat cell sizes were performed in 16 body regions. From direct and indirect measurements referred to the cell diameter and cell number in equivalent areas, carried out on sections from paraffin embedded material and on preparations of dissociated whole cells, it emerged that the adipose cells of the subserous fat of the abdominal floor are consistently the largest, whereas those of the orbital fat body and supraorbital fossa are the smallest. In the other regions the cells h...
McMurphy RM, Cribb PH.This study was designed to investigate the effect of the nasotracheal insufflation of oxygen at a flow rate of 15 L/min on the arterial partial pressure of oxygen during the recovery period following inhalation anesthesia in the horse. It has been stated that this is a suitable flow rate to prevent postoperative hypoxemia but without any experimental evidence to support those statements. Horses being used for the study of healing of cartilage were anesthetized on two separate occasions. Following one period of anesthesia they were allowed to recover breathing room air, and following the other ...
Irvine CH, Alexander SL.Pituitary venous blood was collected by a painless nonsurgical cannulation method from five ambulatory stallions at 5-min intervals for 5-6 h during the breeding season. In four adult stallions, statistical analysis showed that pulses of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and LH were coincident (P less than 0.01), as were pulses of FSH and LH (P less than 0.05). Furthermore, the patterns of changes in concentration of FSH and LH were highly correlated in each of the four stallions. However, seemingly ineffective pulses of GnRH were also observed, with 28% of GnRH pulses failing to induce a...
Cribb PH.Forty-five horses were maintained on halothane or isoflurane anesthesia for at least 90 minutes and received positive pressure ventilation after the first 30 minutes of anesthesia. Parameters monitored included end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (ETPCO2), arterial blood pressure, and arterial blood gases and pH. There was a statistically significant correlation between end-tidal carbon dioxide and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) for both halothane and isoflurane anesthesia. There was no significant correlation between end-tidal carbon dioxide and either body weigh...
Ralston JM, Stenhouse AM, Stenhouse NS, Buck GJ, Lucks SF, Reynoldson JA, Bolton JR.A survey of the concentrations of cortisol in blood and urine samples taken from thoroughbred and standardbred horses after racing is presented. Statistical analysis showed the only significant difference between thoroughbred and standardbred horses was a higher cortisol concentration in thoroughbred urine. Urine volume and pH had no significant influence on the urinary cortisol concentration, however 9.5% of the urinary cortisol variation could be explained due to the influence of plasma cortisol concentration. The results of cortisol and ACTH administrations are also shown and compared with ...
Denny JE.Horses receiving a pelleted or cubed dietary supplementation with roughage, have serum inorganic phosphate (SIP) concentrations consistently below an accepted mean of 1,032 mmol l-1 or 3, 1 mg dl-1. Further, it has been reported that the best eight, two-year-old Irish Thoroughbred track performers of 51 horses tested over a 10 month period, had significantly lower SIP concentrations than the worst eight track performers. In an endeavour to assess any nutritive effect on SIP concentrations and also to assess any effect of SIP concentrations on track performance, metabolic blood profiles from 30...
Leach DH, Sprigings EJ, Laverty WH.Standard univariate and bivariate statistical methods and two multivariate methods, stepwise regression and factor analyses, were used to analyze 17 stride-timing measurements of 22 racing Thoroughbreds filmed at the beginning of races. All horses were in a right-lead transverse gallop. Data were extracted from frame-by-frame analysis of 16-mm film taken with a high-speed camera. The mean stride duration was 0.405 s and the mean stride frequency was 2.47 strides/s. Stride duration had a higher correlation to the suspension-phase duration (r = 0.864) than to stride-stance-phase duration (r = 0....
von Segesser L, Jornod N, Faidutti B.The risk of repeat sternotomy is higher than that of the initial sternotomy, especially if the pericardial sac was left open at the first intervention. In 200 consecutive patients with a pericardial defect after open heart operations, the pericardium was closed with a glutaraldehyde-preserved equine pericardial patch. Precardiac adhesions at reoperation were assessed in four groups of patients on a scale of 6, ranging from 0 (no adhesions) to 5 (calcified or ossified adhesions). Group I comprised 13 patients in whom the pericardium was left open at the first operation and an equine pericardial...
Fuchs R, Militz H, Hoffmann M.The ascertainment of the digestibility of crude nutrients in rations for horses requires the inclusion of movement-based performance as influencing factor. Under the consideration of this requirement, indicator methods gain significance in comparison with the standard method of collecting faeces completely. In two experiments the digestion of the crude nutrients in rations for horses was tested according to the standard method (complete collection of faeces) and the indicator method 4 N HCl-insoluble ash). According to the indicator method the digestibility of crude nutrients was slightly high...
Andersson L, Arnason T, Sandberg K.Investigations on relationships between biochemical polymorphism and variation in quantitative traits are of interest from the perspectives of both theoretical quantitative genetics and practical animal breeding. This subject was studied by using racing performance records of more than 25,000 horses of the Swedish Trotter breed born in the period 1970-1979. For all horses data on six blood group and nine electrophoretic loci were available. Two different performance traits were investigated. A racing performance index value was calculated for all individuals which had started in at least five ...
Pascoe RR, Pascoe DR, Wilson MC.Between 1982 and 1985, 1015 mares were evaluated using the following parameters: age, mare status (maiden, barren, lactating), Caslick index, Caslick operation, ovarian cycle, ovarian and follicular size, treatments (hCG and intrauterine infusions), number of ovulations after mating (184 mares), number of conceptuses present, dimensions of embryonic vesicles, and pregnancy status 45 days after mating. Mares were examined ultrasonographically between Days 12 and 25 to detect the presence of embryonic vesicles and measure the dimensions of each vesicle. The data were analysed by a stepwise logis...
Hodson NP, Wright JA, Hunt J.Plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and catecholamines were used to study the role of the sympatho-adrenal system in equine grass sickness. Statistical evaluation determined differences of hormone levels between seven horses with grass sickness (one acute, five subacute and one chronic), six horses with colic (one with laminitis) and 16 control horses before and after mild stress. Plasma levels of the hormones were higher in horses with acute and subacute grass sickness than in the other groups. No differences were detected between horses with colic and stressed contr...
O'Callaghan MW.This study was initiated to determine the accuracy of M-mode echocardiography in measuring left ventricular dimensions and estimating heart weights in horses. Left ventricular free wall and interventricular septal thickness and left ventricular external and internal diameters were measured and heart weights estimated from the echocardiograms of 47 horses. Autopsy measurements of the same parameters were then recorded. Statistical comparison of the data demonstrated: (1) Systolic measurements of wall thickness more closely resembled the heart in death than the diastolic measurements; (2) good c...
Goulden BE, Anderson LJ, Cahill JI.An endoscopic survey was performed to assess arytenoid cartilage movement during quiet respiration in 48 Clydesdale horses. Physical characteristics which could influence the length of the recurrent laryngeal nerves were also recorded from these horses and the relationship of these characteristics to the presence of abnormal left arytenoid cartilage movements was assessed statistically. Some degree of abnormal arytenoid movement was observed in 50% of the animals over one year of age. No significant correlation between sex, age, estimated weight, height, or neck length could be found although ...
Puentes MMM, Guzman YL, Torreglosa JCT, Isaza PAL, Guzman-Barragán BL.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a persistent lentiviral disease with important sanitary and economic implications in tropical regions; however, epidemiological information in Colombia remains limited. Objective: To estimate seroprevalence, identify risk factors, and evaluate hematological alterations associated with EIA in horses from Casanare, Colombia. Methods: A cross-sectional study including 1,228 horses from 204 production units across 121 rural districts. Serological diagnosis was performed using agar gel immunodiffusion. Demographic and management data were obtained through an epidem...
Reville A, Corrigan J, Pugh J, O'Connor S.This study aimed to: 1) examine fall and injury incidence in Irish horseracing between 2016 and 2024, 2) establish injury characteristics, 3) compare incidence rates between professional and amateur racing and 4) investigate changes in incidence rates over time. Methods: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Fall and injury data was recorded by Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB)-appointed medical doctors using a standardised injury report form at every Irish race meeting between 2016 and 2024. Fall and injury incidence, injury location and type of injury were reported with 95% Confid...
Abdullah , Bensmail H, Johnson JP, Bouhali O.Laminitis is a painful and potentially life-threatening inflammatory condition of the equine hoof, and its detection remains a major challenge in veterinary practice. Although several risk factors have been reported, the prediction of the onset of laminitis in a subclinical stage using routine clinical data is still limited. This study aims to address this gap by developing an interpretable machine learning (ML) framework for the prediction of the risk of laminitis in horses. A point-based risk scoring system was first constructed using multivariate logistic regression to quantify the contribu...
Williams Louie E, Suter B, Schwarzwald CC, Mitchell KJ.Criteria for arrhythmia classification in horses are insufficient, particularly when differentiating atrial premature complexes (APCs) from sinus arrhythmia (SA). This study investigated RR and PP interval changes between SA, APCs, and ventricular premature complexes (VPCs). Unassigned: 30 resting ECGs were reviewed: 10 each containing SA, APC, and VPC. Sequences of 10 RR and PP intervals were recorded for each arrhythmia (20 events/ECG). Percent RR and PP deviations were calculated (1) between sequential intervals (%ΔSEQPP and %ΔSEQRR, respectively) and (2) compared to averaged baseline int...
Weigt A, Brockmann A, Tetens J, Schmitt AO.Reliable phenotypes are essential for successful animal breeding programmes. Subjective phenotypic assessment may lead to under- or overestimation of heritability estimates and thereby affect the power of genome-based analyses. In Warmblood horses, conformation traits are commonly assessed using linear scoring, but its reliability has not been sufficiently quantified. Objective: In this study, we investigated inter- and intra-rater reliability of linear scoring of conformation traits in German warmblood horses. Methods: Professional equine breeding experts (e.g. breeding judges) completed an o...
Satué K, La Fauci D, Colomer-Selva R, Cravana C, Fazio E.Platelet indices provide valuable information on platelet activation, heterogeneity, and production kinetics, yet their physiological variability remains poorly characterized in horses. Although seasonal changes in platelet count have been described, the seasonal modulation of derived platelet indices in mares remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the seasonal variation of platelet count and derived platelet indices in clinically healthy mares from the Valencia region (Spain), and to assess their interrelationships. Forty clinically healthy Spanish Purebred mares (6-...
Vostra-Vydrova H, Moravcikova N, Kasarda R, Shihabi M, Druet T, Halvonik A, Hofmanova B, Dovc P, Zorc M, Molina A, Demyda-Peyrás S, Valera M....Baroque horses represent a distinctive group of breeds that emerged mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries, shaped by the demands of European royalty and their courts. Although recognised as separate breeds, they share common ancestry, breeding goals, and historical gene flow. This study aimed to evaluate their genomic diversity, population structure, and admixture patterns. We analysed 1 160 individuals from eight breeds - Lipizzan, Old Kladruby Horse, Pura Raza Española, Lusitano, Friesian, Criollo, Peruvian Paso, and Puerto Rican Paso Fino - using 34 026 single-nucleotide polymorphis...
Santana ML, Bignardi AB.Reining performance is influenced by subjectivity and competition structure, challenging genetic evaluation. This study estimated genetic parameters for reining performance in Brazilian Quarter Horses using random regression models (RRM) and evaluated how alternative phenotypic definitions affect genetic inference and predictive ability. A dataset comprising 21,165 longitudinal records from 1603 horses was analyzed, comparing within-group rank (RANK) and Blom-transformed rank (BLOM). Model comparison indicated that cubic RRM provided the best fit for both phenotypes. Heritability estimates wer...
Nolen-Walston RD, Lowndes CR, Kulp JC, Luethy D, Stefanovski D, Van Eps AW.Total adiponectin (TA) is a marker of metabolic health in equids, with values below a critical decision point of < 7.9 μg/mL conferring increased risk of laminitis. Objective: To evaluate an IT assay to measure serum [TA] in equids and to assess its correlation with [high molecular weight adiponectin] (HMWA) measured by ELISA. Methods: Total serum adiponectin concentrations from 207 adult horses were measured using both an IT assay for TA and HMWA using a previously validated ELISA assay. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlation and Passing-Bablok regression. Intra- and inter-assa...
Santana ML, Bignardi AB.Barrel racing performance reflects a complex interplay among genetic merit, rider ability, training strategies, and competition-specific conditions. In practice, events differ substantially in their economic scale, and prize money can serve as a proxy for management intensity, rider expertise, and selection pressure. Objective: This study investigated whether economic stratification, represented by total prize money per event, is associated with changes in (co)variance components for barrel racing time in Brazilian Quarter Horses. Methods: A reaction-norm model was implemented using 349,262 ra...
Ferme T, Zorc M, Cotman M, Mesarič M, Dovč P.In this study, we analysed genetic diversity, population structure and inbreeding in the Lipica Stud Farm population by integrating pedigree records, microsatellite (STR) and genome-wide SNP data generated using the GGP Equine 70K BeadChip. The dataset comprised 233 horses from the Lipica Stud Farm, which served as the reference population for comparisons of diversity estimates based on pedigree-, STR- and SNP data. The STR data were originally generated for routine parentage verification and were included here to compare inbreeding estimates based on pedigree, STR and genome-wide SNP data. Pe...
Latorre N, Gómez-Cuétara C, Cañizares E, Crespo F, Pérez-Aguilera V, Laborda-Gomariz JÁ, Soler AJ, Sanchez-Rodriguez A, Roldan ERS.The growing relevance of the Purebred Spanish horse has driven the extensive use of assisted reproductive technologies to preserve elite stallion genetics. Optimal reproductive performance is intrinsically linked to systemic health and high semen quality. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of body condition on the stallion's metabolic and endocrine profiles and their seminal parameters. Semen and blood samples were collected from 26 stallions (February-May in 2024-2025) whose body condition score (BCS) was assessed using the Henneke scale. They were classified into two groups, low BCS wit...
Kuroda T, Minamijima Y, Takahashi Y, Ebisuda Y, Yoshida K, Ishikawa H, Ishihara KI, Mita H, Nomura M, Nukada T, Ishikawa Y.Quinidine has long been used for the pharmacological treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) in horses; however, the plasma concentration required for conversion to sinus rhythm remains unclear. Dominant frequency (DF), derived from surface electrocardiograms, reflects atrial activation rate during AF. This study aimed to quantify the relationship between plasma quinidine concentration and DF using a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) approach. Ten Thoroughbred horses with naturally occurring AF received quinidine sulfate via a nasogastric tube. Plasma quinidine concentrations and DF values...
Waples RS, Khanshour AM, Cothran EG.Standardbred horses are widely used for harness racing in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In the U.S., two gaits (Pacers and Trotters) are genetically differentiated at a level typical for different horse breeds. We used the complete pedigree for all registered American Standardbred foals born 1970-2014 (>200 K Trotters and > 500 K Pacers) to calculate annual and lifetime reproductive skew and its consequences for the effective number of breeders per year (Nb) and effective size per generation (Ne). With rare exceptions, females can only produce 0 or 1 foal per year, w...
Moore-Colyer M, Harris P, Daniels S.Haylage is widely fed to all categories of stabled horses across Europe and New Zealand. Haylage can vary from high energy nutrient dense forage to low energy highly fibrous fodder, yet little is known about the impact different haylages have on metabolism in horses. This study provides the first direct comparison of feeding four different haylages: early cut (Lolium multiflorum), later cut (Lolium perenne) rye grass (R1 and R2); early and late cut meadow grass (M1 and M2), on urinary and faecal metabonomics, in ponies at maintenance. Using replicated Latin Square design, eight individually ho...
Regnault N, Olivier A, Pycik E, Bideau N.Show jumping performance depends on the rider's ability to regulate the horse-rider system while maintaining postural stability under dynamic constraints. Although rider biomechanics has been investigated in various equestrian contexts, integrated analyses combining 3D kinematics with rein and stirrup kinetics during jump-approach remain limited. This study aimed to analyse how approaching an obstacle changes a rider's control strategies by comparing sitting canter, two-point canter in straight line without obstacle and jump-approach canter (defined here as the five strides before obstacle) in...
Tanner JC, Beatson PR, Hickford JGH, Barrell GK.This study was conducted to quantify the probability of a Standardbred foal attaining early career milestones and to estimate some environmental and genetic factors that influence achievement of those milestones. Data for all Standardbred foals registered at birth in New Zealand from 1995 to 2018 were used to estimate variance components and fixed effects influencing attainment of three early-career traits; registered with trainer (REG), starting in a trial (TRIAL) and starting in a race (RACE). The study population comprised 65,256 foals. Of these, 65.5% attained REG, 55.4% progressed to TRIA...
Shah MH, Roshan D, Pugh J, Murray J, Fuller C, Kung S, Reville A, O'Connor S.Despite horse racing's exceptionally high concussion risk, there is no jockey-specific ImPACT study. This work aimed to develop demographically adjusted, jockey-specific ImPACT norms and to evaluate complementary approaches to clinical classification. Unassigned: Retrospective baseline data from 663 Irish jockeys (2021-2024) were analyzed. Two normative methods were applied: (i) a univariate regression-based approach estimating expected scores for each cognitive domain independently, adjusting for age, sex, and education, with percentile-based classification; and (ii) a multivariate regression...
Stapley E, Lowndes C, Inanc E, Gillespie-Harmon C, Waxman S, Farr A, van Eps A, Bertin FR.Variables associated with hormonal, clinical, and survival outcomes of equids with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) are incompletely investigated. Objective: Evaluate the effect of initial hormone concentrations, clinical signs, treatment, and owner-related variables on outcomes in horses and ponies with PPID. Methods: Medical records from 213 horses and ponies diagnosed with PPID by 2 university-based primary care practices. Methods: Analytical observational cohort study. Variables associated with adrenocorticotropic hormone normalization, clinical improvement, and survival after ...
Perdomo-González DI, Valera M, Molina A, Azor P, Sánchez JP.Dominance is a non-additive genetic effect involving allele interaction at the same locus. In animal breeding, it has often been ignored due to its complexity and the low accuracy of pedigree-based estimates. This study analysed dominance variance components for reproductive traits [age at first foaling (AFF), reproductive efficiency (RE), interval between first and second foaling (I12)] and morphological traits [scapulo-ischial length (SIL), dorsal sternal diameter (DSD), knee circumference (KC)] in Pura Raza Española (PRE) mares. The aim was to assess the magnitude of dominance effects acro...
Lutvikadic I, Hopster K, Watkins AR.Mechanical power (MP) represents the ventilatory-delivered energy to the respiratory system, integrating multiple variables into a single parameter. It has been linked to ventilator-induced lung injury and post-ventilation complications in human medicine, while clinical relevance in equine anesthesia remains insufficient. Objective: To evaluate the association between intraoperative mechanical power and postoperative respiratory outcomes in horses undergoing inhalant anesthesia. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed anesthesia records from 843 adult horses anesthetized between 2023...
Prémont A, Moiroud C, Jacquet S, Beaumont A, Bertoni L, Chateau H, Audigié F.To quantitatively describe changes in skeletal radiopharmaceutical uptake during a training program including swimming in horses with neck and back pain, eighteen showjumping horses with documented vertebral lesions were prospectively included in a training program composed of 4 weeks of ridden work and then 8 weeks combining swimming and ridden exercise. Previously published data on this cohort did not demonstrate any clear change in thoracolumbar mobility. Bone scintigraphy was performed at the 4th and 12th weeks. Radiopharmaceutical uptake was quantified in 205 regions of interest (ROIs) an...
Hickey C, Guedes A, Byrne J, Hatschbach E, Walters B, Rendahl A, Tearney C.Defining the reliability of oscillometry (NIBP) for measuring mean arterial pressure (MAP) during normotension and hypovolaemic hypotension could help with cardiovascular monitoring and management in horses anaesthetised in dorsal recumbency. Objective: To assess agreement between NIBP and invasive MAP during normotension and hypovolaemic hypotension in dorsally-recumbent, anaesthetised horses. Methods: Prospective experimental study using 11 horses. Methods: Under isoflurane anaesthesia, blood was removed at 5 mL/kg bwt increments up to 25 mL/kg bwt and returned in a similar fashion. Pair...
Cardiac arrhythmias are frequently detected during routine auscultation in athletic horses. Assessment of their clinical significance requires electrocardiography (ECG) to analyze waveforms and intervals. In recent years, portable ECG devices have been introduced to simplify electrocardiographic examination, offering advantages such as ease of use and the ability to review results via a smartphone. This study evaluated the utility and accuracy of a portable ECG device compared with a standard electrocardiograph. Simultaneous ECG recordings were obtained from 28 healthy adult horses at rest usi...
Alkhamees ASA, Cavalleri JV, Hammer SE.Understanding the immunogenetic structure of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in Arabian horses helps to clarify the population health structure-related phenotypes of this historically influential breed. Straight Egyptian (SE) Arabian horses, which fall under , are of global value but are limited in number, raising concerns about their distribution and the genetic diversity associated with immunity. In this study, we examined 57 Egyptian Arabian horses from two breeding programs: one in Germany (AR-DE) and the other in Qatar (AR-QA). Sixteen polymorphic intra-MHC microsatellite marke...
Lindroth KM, Müller CE.Measurements of pH-value in equine faeces are often performed in studies on nutrition and health in horses, but a standard protocol for it is lacking despite the knowledge that different sample handling may affect the pH-value. Sample handling prior to pH-measurement is often determined by practical settings and has been reported to vary in published studies within the area. The purpose of the current study was therefore to investigate the influence of different combinations of storage time and temperature on the pH-value in equine faecal samples in comparison to immediate pH-measurement at de...
Ripley NE, Gravatte HS, Reinemeyer CR, Nielsen MK.Habitat preferences of gastrointestinal nematodes are well-documented in small hosts, but equine cyathostomin diversity has largely been characterized only at farm or regional levels. While organ-level site preferences are known, within-organ spatial distributions remain unexplored. We investigated the longitudinal and radial distribution of adult cyathostomins within the large-intestinal lumen. Intact large intestines from 5 Shetland ponies were frozen post-necropsy and transected into 4-cm sections. Three micro-habitat samples (2.5 cm diameter) were collected per section. We recovered 2,444 ...
Perzyna M, Bardet E, Baranowska K, Kiełbik P, Puchalska M, Pawliński B, Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O.Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a major acute phase protein used as an inflammatory biomarker in equine medicine. However, no universally accepted assay-specific reference interval (RI) exists for donkeys, and available literature remains limited, with only few studies using different donkey breeds and immunoassay platforms. This study aimed to establish an assay- and population-specific RI for serum SAA in apparently healthy donkeys using a species-specific double sandwich ELISA. Unassigned: Serum SAA concentrations were measured in 176 apparently healthy donkeys. RI estimation followed ASVCP/CLSI r...
Selim A, Marzok M, Gattan HS, Alruhaili MH, Ismail H, Almubarak AI, Hereba AM.Equine strongylosis is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal parasitic diseases affecting horses and donkeys worldwide, leading to reduced health, productivity, and working performance. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal strongyle infection and identify associated risk factors among equines in three Egyptian governorates. Unassigned: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 540 horses and donkeys. Fresh fecal samples were collected and examined using the magnesium sulfate flotation technique for the detection of strongyle eggs. Associations between infection ...
Perina F, Lanci A, Fanelli D, Maltinti S, di Caporiacco L, Castagnetti C, Mariella J.The aims of the study were to evaluate factors influencing the resumption of postpartum ovarian activity and to compare hormone concentrations among mares with physiological/pathological postpartum period and cyclic non-lactating mares. Follicular dynamics were monitored ultrasonographically in 38 postpartum mares from foaling or admission (Tpp/Ta) every other day until the emergence of a dominant follicle (Td), then daily until ovulation (To). Blood samples were collected at Tpp/Ta, Td, and To in postpartum mares and at Td and To in cyclic mares to determine serum estradiol, progesterone, lep...
