Temperature regulation in horses involves physiological processes that maintain the animal's core body temperature within a narrow, optimal range despite external environmental changes. Horses, being homeothermic animals, rely on mechanisms such as sweating, respiration, and blood flow adjustments to dissipate excess heat or conserve warmth. These thermoregulatory processes are influenced by factors such as exercise, humidity, and ambient temperature. Variations in temperature can affect a horse's performance, health, and overall well-being. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, effects, and implications of temperature regulation in equine physiology.
Treffers HP, Heidelberger M, Freund J.1. Two horses were injected subcutaneously with alum-precipitated rabbit serum albumin. 2. The resulting antibody resembled diphtheria antitoxin and anti-egg albumin in the horse in giving a sharp zone of flocculation with antigen, in being water-soluble, in reactivity toward an anti-antibody rabbit serum, and in its electrophoretic properties. 3. The effect of continued immunization, and of variation in volume and temperature on the reactivity of the antibody are discussed. 4. Intravenous injection of the same antigen into horses did not give rise to detectable amounts of antibody of the same...
Friend MM, McGaffigan EM, Hall SM, Staniar WB, Smarsh DN.Equine blood samples are often collected in uncontrolled, distant environments and stored for later analysis. Objective: This study aimed to determine how sample storage methods influence complete blood count (CBC) parameters, hypothesizing that temperature and time elapsed from collection to analysis would affect CBC parameters. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 10 healthy Quarter Horse mares (age: 13 ± 4.5 years old) and stored in EDTA tubes at room temperature (22°C), above ice (8°C), refrigerated (4°C), or in contact with ice (2°C). The IDEXX ProcyteDx was used to obtain CBCs...
In horses, heat exposure modulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, autonomic nervous system, and hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis to maintain body temperature and prevent excessive heat accumulation. However, during strenuous exercise under hot and humid conditions, heat production may exceed dissipation, leading to heat stress, anhidrosis, heat stroke, or brain damage. Unassigned: Incremental field standardized exercise tests (fSETs) provide a reliable approach to assess training and fitness levels. Six Arabian horses from Italia Endurance Stable and Academy were monitored during ...
Valera M, Encina A, Sánchez-Guerrero MJ, Rodríguez-Sainz de Los Terreros A, Bartolomé E.Behavioral and emotional reactivity assessment in sport horses is essential for optimizing their management and sports performance, particularly in equestrian disciplines such as Dressage. This study investigates, in Pura Raza Española (PRE) horses, the association between facial hair whorl (FHW) patterns, behavioral traits, and physiological stress responses using ocular temperature (OT) assessed with infrared thermography as, an objective, non-invasive physiological stress indicator. Unassigned: A total of 98 male PRE horses, aged 4-6 years old and all gray coated, were evaluated during the...
Takahashi K, Shirai T, Mukai K, Ebisuda Y, Sugiyama F, Yoshida T, Kitaoka Y.While exercise performance deteriorates in hot environments, heat stress may contribute to exercise-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle. In this study, we assessed transcriptional profiles of equine skeletal muscle following 3 min of high-intensity exercise (at the speed eliciting their maximal oxygen uptake) in cool [wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) 15°C] or hot (WBGT 30°C) conditions. Differential gene expression was identified using DESeq2 (false discovery rate cutoff: 0.05, minimal fold change: 1.5). At 4 h after exercise, RNA-seq identified 176 and 156 genes that were differentially...
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...
Norman AJ, Turner CM, Manfredi JM.Sedation is important for safe equine dental procedures, but it is unknown if there is a higher risk of sedation causing hypothermia in procedures performed during cold months. The authors hypothesize that sedation for a dental procedure will significantly decrease rectal body temperature in cold as compared to warm ambient temperatures. Adult equids ( = 246), from a private equine dentistry practice, that underwent dental equilibration, were selected for the study. Each horse's weight was estimated and sedation was administered intravenously (0.01 mg/kg detomidine and 0.01 mg/kg butor...
Poochipakorn C, Sanigavatee K, Leelehapongsathon K, Wonghanchao T, Chanda M.The impact of climate conditions and stable design on horses housed in individual stalls plays a significant role in their well-being, especially in tropical climates. Limited information exists regarding their conditions during the monsoon season. Objective: This study focused on the stable microclimate and autonomic regulation of horses kept in different stable architectures during the monsoon in a tropical setting. Methods: Twenty-two horses were assigned to one of three stable designs, each offering unique microclimates, including relative humidity, air temperature, and various levels of n...
