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.
Pieroni C, Grassi A, Pantoli M, Berretti M, Messina S, Giovannini C, Lubas G, Diamanti D.The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a widely used diagnostic assay in human medicine but nowadays poorly applied in veterinary medicine. This test measures the speed (millimeters per hour) at which red blood cells settle in a whole anticoagulated blood tube. In human medicine, high ESR values are associated with various disorders, including infections, rheumatoid arthritis, oncologic diseases, and other inflammatory conditions. The ESR can also be influenced by some factors such as age and gender. In veterinary medicine, the ESR with the Westergren manual method was almost forgotten ov...
Treby S, Grover SP.Peatlands are globally significant carbon sinks, but when disturbed, have the potential to release carbon back to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. Feral horse populations in the Australian Alps degrade Sphagnum peatlands, which are highly sensitive to disturbance. However, the link between this degradation and peatland carbon cycling is not understood. Here, we compared the autumn daytime carbon dioxide (CO) and methane (CH) fluxes of 12 alpine and subalpine Sphagnum peatlands in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia. The presence of feral horses at these sites was correlated with higher carb...
Davis MS, Bayly WM, Hansen CM, Barrett MR, Blake CA.Exercise is associated with the development of oxidative stress, but the specific source and mechanism of production of pro-oxidant chemicals during exercise has not been confirmed. We used equine skeletal muscle mitochondria to test the hypothesis that hyperthermia and acidosis affect mitochondrial oxygen consumption and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained at rest, after an acute episode of fatiguing exercise, and after a 9-wk conditioning program to increase aerobic fitness. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption and ROS production were measured simu...
Ward AB, Harris PA, Argo CM, Watson C, Neacsu M, Russell WR, Ribeiro A, Collie-Duguid E, Heidari Z, Morrison PK.The equine faecal microbiota is often assessed as a proxy of the microbial community in the distal colon, where the microbiome has been linked to states of health and disease in the horse. However, the microbial community structure may change over time if samples are not adequately preserved. This study stored equine faecal samples from = 10 horses in four preservation treatments at room temperature for up to 150 h and assessed the resulting impact on microbial diversity and the differential abundance of taxa. Treatments included "COLD" (samples packaged with a cool pack), "CLX" (2% chlorhexi...
Quattrini C, Bozorgmanesh R, Egli P, Magdesian KG.Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is increasingly administered as part of the treatment of colitis in horses, yet there is little data as to its effectiveness. Retrospective evaluation of the effects of FMT on discharge status, fecal consistency, length of hospitalization, and improvement in clinical signs in horses hospitalized for diarrhea. Retrospective case-control study. Medical records of adult horses (>1 year old) that received at least one transfaunation treatment (2013-2018) in two referral hospitals were identified through a medical records database search. Medical records of contemp...
Jung HS, Yun JU, Jung MJ, Song HS, Kim YB, Kim Y, Kim JG, Jeon CO, Roh SW, Whon TW, Lee SH.A novel, anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive coccoid strain, CBA3646, was isolated from the faeces of a thoroughbred racehorse. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing yielded results indicative of CBA3646 representing a member of the genus , with the species most closely related to it being DSM 20463, with a similarity of 94.79 %. DNA-DNA relatedness and average nucleotide identity values between CBA3646 and DSM 20463 were 21.4 and 67.6 %, respectively. CBA3646 has a circular chromosomal genome of 1 709 189 bp (45.5 mol% DNA G+C content), containing 1652 genes in tota...
Schmidt TE, Gleason CB, Samaniego MR, White RR.Failure to properly prepare the equine athlete for exercise and support post-exercise recovery is a contributing factor to physical breakdown and lameness. Equine physiotherapy was not introduced until the early twentieth century and has since evolved to allow for wearable therapies such as therapeutic boots to be accessible to a broad spectrum of equestrians. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of ceramic boots, boots combining vibration and cryotherapy, and boots containing tourmaline on the performance of sport horses during jumping as well as to examine changes in vital s...
Taylor SN, Colbath AC, Manfredi JM, Yob CJ, Muñoz KA.To investigate the effect of isoflurane anesthesia on thermoregulation and peripheral heat loss in dorsally recumbent horses. Methods: Prospective, clinical study. Methods: Seven adult horses (2.6 ± 1.5 years old, 455 ± 70.2 kg). Methods: Horses underwent elective surgical procedures in dorsal recumbency under general anesthesia (GA) maintained with isoflurane in oxygen. Rectal (TR), intranasal (TN) and fetlock surface temperatures (TF) were measured every 10 minutes for the first 80 minutes following induction of GA. Room temperature (TRO) was monitored during the study. Statistical analysi...
The study aimed to assess Apgar scores and collect data on clinical, hemato-biochemical, and venous blood gas parameters in seven mules during their first 48 hours of life. Apgar scores, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), body temperature (BT), body weight (BW), time to achieve sternal recumbency, stand, nurse, and pass meconium were recorded. Blood samples were collected at birth (T0), 6 (T6), 12 (T12), 24 (T24), 48 (T48) hours of life. Data distribution was verified and differences in laboratory parameters over time assessed. One foal had an Apgar score of 6/8, thus excluded from the st...
Jammes M, Contentin R, Audigié F, Cassé F, Galéra P. Osteoarthritis (OA) is an invalidating articular disease characterized by cartilage degradation and inflammatory events. In horses, OA is associated with up to 60% of lameness and leads to reduced animal welfare along with extensive economic losses; currently, there are no curative therapies to treat OA. The mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretome exhibits anti-inflammatory properties, making it an attractive candidate for improving the management of OA. In this study, we determined the best storage conditions for conditioned media (CMs) and tested whether priming MSCs with cytokines can enh...
Thomas BA, Saylor RK, Taylor ZP, Rhodes DVL.Strangles is a highly contagious upper respiratory infection of equids that is globally distributed. The causative agent of strangles, subspecies , can be spread through indirect contact with infected fomites, and studies have shown this microbe to live well in varying environmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to analyze strangles case numbers across the United States of America from 2018 to 2022 to investigate potential temporal or weather patterns associated with outbreaks. Diagnosed case records were obtained from the Equine Disease Communication Center, university databases,...
Ebisuda Y, Mukai K, Takahashi Y, Yoshida T, Kawano A, Matsuhashi T, Miyata H, Kuwahara M, Ohmura H.Heat acclimatization or acclimation training in horses is practiced to reduce physiological strain and improve exercise performance in the heat, which can involve metabolic improvement in skeletal muscle. However, there is limited information concerning the acute signaling responses of equine skeletal muscle after exercise in a hot environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that exercise in hot conditions induces greater changes in heat shock proteins and mitochondrial-related signaling in equine skeletal muscle compared with exercise in cool conditions. Fifteen t...
Sandybayev N, Strochkov V, Beloussov V, Orkara S, Kydyrmanov A, Khan Y, Batanova Z, Kassenov M.Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious disease that causes fever and upper respiratory tract inflammation. It is caused by influenza virus A, belonging to the family, with subtypes H3N8 and H7N7. This study presents data on the development of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using TaqMan probes to detect the H3 subtype of EI virus (EIV). Unassigned: The evaluation of the developed RT-PCR assay involved five strains of EIV as positive controls and ten nasopharyngeal swab samples collected from horses. RNA was isolated using the GeneJet Viral DNA and RNA Purification K...
Frohlich M, Knights K, Springer NL.Differentiating immune-mediated causes from other causes of anemia and thrombocytopenia can be challenging. Flow cytometry can detect surface-associated immunoglobulin (sIg) on red blood cells (RBC) and platelets (PLT) in dogs and horses. Sample storage parameters for ideal assay performance has not been evaluated in horses. The study objective is to identify optimal storage time and temperature of equine whole blood for the detection of RBC-sIg and PLT-sIg via flow cytometry. Both assays were performed on samples at time 0, 4, 24, 48, and 72 h post collection. RBC-sIg samples were stored at ...
Long AE, Southwood LL, Morris TB, Brandly JE, Stefanovski D.Early identification of strangulating obstruction (SO) in horses with colic improves outcomes, yet early diagnosis of horses requiring surgery for SO often remains challenging. Objectives: To compare blood and peritoneal fluid l-lactate concentrations, peritoneal:blood l-lactate ratio, peritoneal minus blood (peritoneal-blood) l-lactate concentration and other clinical variables for predicting SO and SO in horses with small intestinal lesions (SO-SI) and then to develop a multivariable model to predict SO and SO-SI.
Shakeel M, Yoon M.The threat posed by increased surface temperatures worldwide has attracted the attention of researchers to the reaction of animals to heat stress. Spermatogenesis in animals such as stallions is a temperature-dependent process, ideally occurring at temperatures slightly below the core body temperature. Thus, proper thermoregulation is essential, especially because stallion spermatogenesis and the resulting spermatozoa are negatively affected by increased testicular temperature. Consequently, the failure of thermoregulation resulting in heat stress may diminish sperm quality and increase the li...
El-Shalofy A, Gautier C, Khan Y, Aurich J, Aurich C.This study aimed to investigate the effects of storing horse semen either in a dry shipper (≤ -150 °C) or on dry ice (≤ -78 °C) for up to 14 days. A total of 264 frozen semen straws from male horses (n = 8) stored in liquid nitrogen were transferred on day 0 (d0) to a dry shipper or a dry ice styrofoam box. On d1, d3, d7, d10, and d14, straws from the dry shipper and dry ice were returned to the liquid nitrogen container. Semen was evaluated by CASA for total (TMot), progressive motility (PMot) and sperm velocity parameters, by fluorescence microscopy for percentage of membrane-intac...
Zaha C, Schuszler L, Dascalu R, Nistor P, Florea T, Rujescu C, Sicoe B, Igna C.The field of veterinary medicine lacks information on equine thermal hoof printing, and few data on the same subject are available in dogs. In human medicine, thermography is used to detect heat emitted by the foot when it comes in contact with a flat surface to detect the abnormalities of the foot balance. The hypothesis states that the thermal pattern of the hoof print in Warmblood horses is detectable and it does not vary among the four limbs in leisure and cross-country Warmblood horses in terms of mean temperature of the hoof print surface. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the a...
Śniegucka K, Soroko-Dubrovina M, Zielińska P, Dudek K, Žuffová K.Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) is increasingly being used to treat musculoskeletal injuries in horses. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of rESWT on the skin surface temperature of the longissimus dorsi muscle in clinically healthy racing horses. A total of 24 thoroughbreds were divided into a study group (n = 12) and an rESWT-sham group (n = 12). The study group underwent rESWT, whereas the rESWT-sham group had rESWT without probe activation in the treated area. Both groups underwent thermographic examination before and just after rESWT to determine and compa...
Nogueira WA, Ferreira Padilha FG, Angelo Luiz M, da Silva Salomão N, Monteiro Fonseca AB, Reis Ferreira AM.This study aimed to analyze effect of physical exercise in hemogasometric and electrolytic profiles of young Mangalarga Marchador horses beginning training for gait competitions. Six Mangalarga Marchador gaited horses with 6 months of training were evaluated. The ages ranged from three and a half to five years and included four stallions and two mares, with mean (±S.D.) body weight of 435±30Kg. Venous blood samples were collected from the horses, rectal temperature and HR were measured before and immediately after the gait test, and blood samples were used for hemogasometric and laboratory a...
Lisboa BRF, da Silva JAR, da Silva WC, Barbosa AVC, Silva LKX, Lourenço-Júnior JB.In Brazil, the study on equine thermoregulation has not shown considerable advances, moreover, in the Amazon, this is a little explored aspect. This study aims to evaluate the thermoregulation of horses submitted to two methods of post-exercise cooling, in the climatic conditions of the Eastern Amazon. The experiment was conducted at Centro Hipico, Ananindeua, Para, for 15 days. Ten male horses, castrated of the Brazilian breed, aged 13 years and with an average weight of 482.3 kg were used. Equestrianism, which was exercised with pre-established protocol in the arena and track, for 30 min. Af...
Kang H, Zsoldos RR, Sole-Guitart A, Narayan E, Cawdell-Smith AJ, Gaughan JB.Healthy adult horses can balance accumulation and dissipation of body heat to maintain their body temperature between 37.5 and 38.5 °C, when they are in their thermoneutral zone (5 to 25 °C). However, under some circumstances, such as following strenuous exercise under hot, or hot and humid conditions, the accumulation of body heat exceeds dissipation and horses can suffer from heat stress. Prolonged or severe heat stress can lead to anhidrosis, heat stroke, or brain damage in the horse. To ameliorate the negative effects of high heat load in the body, early detection of heat stress and im...
Pozor MA, Benson SM, Macpherson ML, Kelleman AA.Transplantation of stem cells into dysfunctional testes is currently being investigated as a therapeutic option for men and stallions with advanced testicular degeneration. This series of "proof of concept" studies aimed to identify a safe and efficient method of inducing severe testicular degeneration to create an optimal equine recipient model for intratesticular stem cell transplantation (SCT). Two ex vivo and two in vivo experiments were conducted. At first, forty testes obtained from castrations were used to identify an effective therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) device and the protocol for ...
Trigg LE, Lyons S, Mullan S.The development of exertional heat illness (EHI) is a health, welfare and performance concern for racehorses. However, there has been limited multivariable assessment of the possible risk factors for EHI in racehorses, despite such information being vital for regulators to effectively manage the condition. Consequently, this study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with the occurrence of EHI in Thoroughbred racehorses and assess the ability of the risk factor model to predict the occurrence of EHI in racehorses to assist in early identification. Runners at British racecourses record...
Zaha C, Schuszler L, Dascalu R, Nistor P, Florea T, Imre K, Rujescu C, Sicoe B, Igna C.Horses with palmar foot pain do not show a typical increase in temperature in the palmar aspect of the hoof and heel due to low blood flow. The objectives of the current study were to determine the changes and differences in the thermographic pattern of the sole surface in horses with unilateral palmar foot pain and non-lame horses before and after training. We hypothesized that the thermal pattern and the local temperature of the frog area and toe area would be similar, with an increased local temperature after training in both lame and non-lame horses. A pilot study was conducted to investig...
Easterwood L, Cohen ND.Evaluating the body temperature of horses is an essential tool for monitoring horse health and biosecurity in groups of horses. Temperatures of horses and foals are determined most often using rectal thermometry. Rectal thermometry has limitations that include safety considerations for horses and humans. Thus, we investigated the agreement between a noncontact infrared thermometer (NCIT) and a rectal digital thermometer in 142 horses and 34 foals. For each horse and foal, measurements using the NCIT were collected from the forehead (n = 2) or neck (n = 1) and with a rectal digital thermome...
Burnley M.The parameters of the hyperbolic speed-duration relationship (the asymptote critical speed, CS, and the curvature constant, D') provide estimates of the maximal steady state speed (CS) and the distance an animal can run, swim, or fly at speeds above CS before it is forced to slow down or stop (D'). The speed-duration relationship has been directly studied in humans, horses, mice and rats. The technical difficulties with treadmill running in dogs and the relatively short greyhound race durations means that, perhaps surprisingly, it has not been assessed in dogs. The endurance capabilities of li...
Zielińska P, Soroko-Dubrovina M, Śniegucka K, Dudek K, Čebulj-Kadunc N.The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the effects of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) on skin surface temperature and vein diameter in the carpal joint region in racehorses with clipped and non-clipped treatment areas. The study included 20 Thoroughbreds split into two equal groups: clipped coat and non-clipped coat. Horses underwent thermographic examination to detect changes in skin surface temperature at the medial surface of the carpal joint, followed by ultrasonographic examination to assess changes in the diameter of the medial palmar vein before and after HILT. ...
Ake AS, Ayo JO.This study aimed to evaluate the effects of packing (load carrying) on the diurnal rhythms of respiratory and heart rates in donkeys during the hot-dry season. Twenty 2- to 3-years-old donkeys weighing 93 ± 2.7 kg were divided into two groups to serve as subjects: Group 1 was subjected to packing + trekking, while group 2 was subjected to trekking only. All donkeys trekked 20 km on each experimental day. The procedure was repeated three times at one-day intervals. Thermal environmental parameters were recorded. Respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) were measured before and immediately (15...
Buchalski FM, Rankins EM, Malinowski K, McKeever KH.The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an external nasal strip on thermoregulation during submaximal exercise in Standardbred horses. While several studies have been conducted to determine the effects of the external nasal strip on airway resistance, exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage, gas exchange, and time to fatigue in maximally exercising horses, the effects of the nasal strip on equine thermoregulation have not yet been examined. It was hypothesized that the application of an external nasal strip would alter central venous temperature (T), skin temperature (T), and exe...
van Eps AW, Orsini JA.Digital hypothermia may be effective for laminitis prophylaxis and therapy, but the efficacy of cooling methods used in clinical practice requires evaluation. Objective: To use hoof wall surface temperature (HWST) to compare several cooling methods used in clinical practice. Methods: Experimental crossover design with a minimum washout period of 72 h. Methods: Seven cooling methods (commercially available ice packs, wraps and boots) and one prototypical dry-sleeve device were applied to a single forelimb in 4 horses for 8 h, during which HWST of the cooled forelimb and the uncooled (contro...
Emenius G, Larsson PH, Wickman M, Härfast B.The objective was to establish an ELISA to detect horse allergen in ambient air and settled dust. Methods: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced against extracts of horse antigen. Two mAbs were selected and used in a sandwich ELISA. By the aid of portable pumps, air samples were collected in one stable and in the ambient air surrounding this stable. Furthermore, settled dust was collected by wiping spots with pieces of fabric, at sites within 500 m of the stable. Results: Extracts of horsehair could be extensively diluted and still be positive. Extracts of cat and dog allergen failed to b...
Saville WJ, Reed SM, Granstrom DE, Hinchcliff KW, Kohn CW, Wittum TE, Stamper S.To determine the seroprevalence of serum antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona in horses residing in Ohio. Methods: Prevalence survey. Methods: Serum from samples from 1,056 horses. Serum was collected on every 36th sample submitted to the Ohio State Diagnostic Laboratory for testing for equine infectious anemia. Methods: Serum was frozen at -80 C and analyzed for antibodies to S neurona, using a western blot. Information regarding blood sample collection, age, breed, sex, and geographic location was recorded for each horse. Data were analyzed, using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Hor...
McDowell KJ, Moore ES, Parks AG, Bush LP, Horohov DW, Lawrence LM.The hypotheses that endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum)-infected tall fescue (TF) seed causes vasoconstriction in horses in vivo and that ground seed would cause more pronounced vasoconstriction than whole seed were tested. Ten horses each received 1 of 3 treatments: endophyte-free ground (E-G; n = 4 horses) seed, endophyte-positive whole (E+W; n = 3) seed, or endophyte-positive ground (E+G; n = 3) seed. There were two 14-d periods, P1 and P2. During P1, animals were adapted to a concentrate (0.2% BW, as fed, twice daily) and alfalfa cubes. During P2, the seed was mixed into the concentrate ...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Lamy E, Escribano D, Cerón JJ, Tecles F, Quiles AJ, Hevia ML.This study aims to evaluate the circadian and circannual variations in a panel of analytes in horse saliva that have been previously described as biomarkers related to stress and disease, in order to interpret them correctly when they are measured in this species. This panel of analytes integrated cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), lipase (Lip), total esterase (TEA), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), adenosine deaminase (ADA), γ-glutamyl transferase (gGT), creatine kinase (CK), urea, total bilirubin, total protein (TP), and phosphorus. These analytes were measured in saliva obtained from a p...
Autio E, Neste R, Airaksinen S, Heiskanen ML.It is necessary to consider breed and cold tolerance in the housing and caring of horses. This study demonstrates differences in heat loss between horse types at low temperatures and examines rate of loss in different types during different seasons. Eighteen horses participated. Groups by type were light (L), warmblood (W), coldblood (C), and pony (P). A camera filmed thermographic images at 15 degrees C, 2 degrees C (all types), -8 degrees C (L, W, C), and -12 degrees C (P). The study calculated loss from the neck, trunk, and inner surfaces of front and hind legs. Loss was similar in all type...
Elfman L, Brannstrom J, Smedje G.Integrating horse stables with built-up areas may lead to conflicts. Dispersion of horse allergen may become a health risk for allergic people. The aim was to measure the dispersion of horse allergen around a stable, considering wind speed and direction and vegetation. The disturbance of staff at a workplace nearby a stable was investigated. Methods: Air sampling was performed around a stable (32 horses) at distances of 50-500 m in all directions. Sampling was done with a pump and an IOM sampler. Samples were collected at 50 points during all seasons. Horse allergen levels were determined usin...
Choi YH, Velez IC, Macías-García B, Riera FL, Ballard CS, Hinrichs K.Equine intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is being used clinically for foal production, but little information is available on factors affecting the efficiency of this procedure. We examined factors that may influence blastocyst development when ICSI is performed clinically, i.e., on oocytes recovered from live mares by transvaginal ultrasound-guided follicle aspiration (TVA), using sperm from the stallion of the client's choice. In a clinical setting, there may be a delay from the time of TVA to isolation of oocytes from the aspirated fluid. In a preliminary study, oocytes from fluid hel...
Crespo F, Quiñones-Pérez C, Ortiz I, Diaz-Jimenez M, Consuegra C, Pereira B, Dorado J, Hidalgo M.The aim of this study was to assess seasonal variations during different periods of the breeding season (spring and summer) on stallion sperm DNA fragmentation and in vivo fertility associated with cooled-stored semen samples. Ejaculates were collected from eleven stallions and assessed for sperm motility (assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis) and plasma membrane integrity (evaluated under fluorescence microscopy). Sperm DNA fragmentation (evaluated by the Sperm Chromatin Dispersion test) was assessed in cooled-stored semen at 5 °C for up to 24 h. Artificial insemination was perfor...
Ramsey YH, Christley RM, Matthews JB, Hodgkinson JE, McGoldrick J, Love S.A study following the development of Cyathostominae from egg to the infective larval third stage was conducted from April to December 2001 in west central Scotland. Duplicate samples (1 kg) of naturally infected faeces were placed on a 78 cm2 plot each week on a cyathostomin-free pasture. Subsamples of the grass surrounding the faecal plot were collected weekly on four occasions and the number of larvae obtained determined. Few larvae were recovered in the first week of development of individual plots, followed by a rise in the numbers of larvae in second, third and fourth weeks of development...
Montgomery L, Elliott SB, Adair HS.To (1) determine the temperature change in equine tendon and muscle during therapeutic ultrasound and (2) develop guidelines for treating horses for muscular or tendinous injury using therapeutic ultrasound. Methods: Experimental, in vivo study. Methods: Adult horses (n = 10). Methods: Thermistors were inserted in the superficial and deep digital flexor tendons (SDFT and DDFT) of the thoracic limbs of 10 adult horses. On the left, 3.3 MHz therapeutic continuous ultrasound was done for 10 minutes at an intensity of 1.0 W/cm(2) and for the right thoracic limb at 1.5 W/cm(2). Thermistors were pla...
Cybinski DH, Zakrzewski H.CSIRO 368 virus was isolated from blood collected in the Northern Territory from a healthy cow and electron microscope studies showed that the isolate had rhabdovirus morphology. Fluorescent antibody studies and complement fixation tests related the virus to bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) virus. Neutralization tests in both suckling mice and Vero cells showed that the virus was not BEF virus. Antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus were found in cattle sera from northern and eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Antibodies were found in 16 out of 45 buffalo, some of which also had antibodies to BEF viru...
de Mira MC, Lamy E, Santos R, Williams J, Pinto MV, Martins PS, Rodrigues P, Marlin D.The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of salivary cortisol (SC) and eye temperature measured by infrared thermography (IRTET) as biomarkers to manage competitions more effectively and monitor horse welfare in endurance competitions. Based on previous studies, it was hypothesised that pre-exercise baseline SC and IRTET would be higher in younger or less experienced horses, and that post-exercise variation from baseline would be higher in the top finishers. Results: Salivary cortisol measured in 61 competing at qualifier 40 km and 80 km rides showed an abrupt variation ...
Wang M, Liu Y, Bi X, Ma H, Zeng G, Guo J, Guo M, Ling Y, Zhao C.In the present study, genome-wide CNVs were detected in a total of 301 samples from 10 Chinese indigenous horse breeds using the Illumina Equine SNP70 Bead Array, and the candidate genes related to adaptability to high temperature and humidity in Jinjiang horses were identified and validated. We determined a total of 577 CNVs ranging in size from 1.06 Kb to 2023.07 Kb on the 31 pairs of autosomes. By aggregating the overlapping CNVs for each breed, a total of 495 CNVRs were detected in the 10 Chinese horse breeds. As many as 211 breed-specific CNVRs were determined, of which 64 were found in t...
Emet M, Beyhun NE, Kosan Z, Aslan S, Uzkeser M, Cakir ZG.This is a retrospective and registry-based descriptive study including animal- related injuries represented by the most crowded Emergency Department (ED) in Eastern Turkey over a period of two years. Animal-related injuries were 0.2% of all ED admittances; dominant in males and were high in summer. 68% of the subjects were exposed to mammalians. Most prominent injuries were dog bites (30%), horse (22%) and livestock-related injuries (12%). Hospitalization was significantly higher in mammalian animal injuries compared to non-mammalian injuries. The highest hospitalization rate was measured for ...
Castanheira M, Paiva SR, Louvandini H, Landim A, Fiorvanti MC, Paludo GR, Dallago BS, McManus C.The environment in which the horse is reared affects its ability to maintain thermal balance which is in turn related to thermal characteristics and regulatory physiological mechanisms. In this study a multivariate analysis of physiological traits in relation to heat tolerance in horses was carried out in the Federal District, Brazil. The aim was to test the ability of these analyses to separate groups of animals and determine which physiological traits are most important in the adaptation to heat stress. Forty adult horses (4 to 13 years) were used, ten from each of four different genetic gro...
Loke WK, Khor E.Shrinkage temperature is most often used to report the degree of cross-linking in glutaraldehyde-fixed animal tissue for use in bioprosthetic heart valve fabrication. Present practice utilizes the measurement of hydrothermal shrinkage observed when a sample is subjected to a temperature programme. This measurement at best gives a general indication of the efficiency of the treatment, i.e. the extent of cross-linking in the tissue. When differential scanning calorimetry has been used, the ambiguity arising from the scant reporting of the protocols used does not permit easy comparison of experim...
McConaghy FF, Hales JR, Rose RJ, Hodgson DR.Five horses were exercised on a treadmill [to central blood temperature (Tcore) approximately 42.5 degrees C]. Three of those horses were heated at rest in a climate room (53 degrees C, 90% relative humidity) (to Tcore approximately 41.5 degrees C). Temperatures were measured in the rectum, hypothalamus (Thyp), cerebrum, and cavernous sinus (Tsinus), on the skin of the head and midside, and Tcore. When Tcore increased above 38.5 degrees C, Thyp remained 0.6 +/- 0.1 degree C (SE) lower during heat exposure and 1 +/- 0.2 degrees C lower during exercise. During heat exposure, Tsinus was 2.2 +/- 0...
Desmet J, Van Dael H, Van Cauwelaert F, Nitta K, Sugai S.The enthalpy change of the binding of Ca2+ and Mn2+ to equine lysozyme was measured at 25 degrees C and pH 7.5 by batch microcalorimetry: delta H degrees Ca2+ = -76 +/- 5 kJ mol-1, delta H degrees Mn2+ = -21 +/- 10 kJ mol-1. Binding constants, log KCa2+ = 6.5 +/- 0.2 and log KMn2+ = 4.1 +/- 0.5, were calculated from the calorimetric data. Therefore, delta S degrees Ca2+ = -131 +/- 20 JK-1 mol-1 and delta S degrees Mn2+ = 8 +/- 44 JK-1 mol-1. Removal of Ca2+ induces small but significant changes in the circular dichroism spectrum, indicating the existence of a partially unfolded apo-conformatio...
Giannetto C, Aragona F, Arfuso F, Piccione G, De Caro S, Fazio F.Thermoregulation is an important mechanism to ensure thermal homeostasis. In horses, different housing conditions could influence this mechanism by exposing animals to different microclimates. The circadian rhythm of body temperature is well known. For this reason, we wanted to investigate the daily rhythm of cutaneous (jugular, shoulder, inner thigh and croup) temperature in comparison to rectal temperature in athletic horses kept under two different housing conditions. Ten clinically healthy Italian Saddle horses were divided into two equal groups: the first group was housed in individual bo...
van Eps AW, Pollitt CC, Underwood C, Medina-Torres CE, Goodwin WA, Belknap JK.Prophylactic digital hypothermia reduces the severity of acute laminitis experimentally but there is no evidence for its efficacy as a treatment once lameness has already developed. Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of digital hypothermia, applied after the onset of lameness, in an experimental acute laminitis model. Methods: Randomised, controlled (within subject), blinded, experimental trial. Methods: Eight Standardbred horses underwent laminitis induction using the oligofructose model. Once lameness was detected at the walk, one forelimb was continuously cooled (CRYO), with ...
Fuller A, Maloney SK, Kamerman PR, Mitchell G, Mitchell D.We used implanted miniature data loggers to measure brain and arterial blood temperatures in three free-ranging zebras (Equus burchelli) in their natural habitat, every 5 min for 9 days. The animals experienced globe temperatures exceeding 40 C, and radiant heat load of about 1000 W m-2. Arterial blood exhibited a moderate amplitude (1.7 C) nychthemeral rhythm, with an acrophase at 19.00 h and a nadir late in the morning, at 10.00 h. Brain temperature consistently exceeded blood temperature, on average by 0.2-0.4 C, and changes in brain temperature closely tracked changes in blood temperature....
Kameke D, Kampen H, Walther D.Culicoides Latreille, 1809 midge species are the putative vectors of Bluetongue virus (BTV) and Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in Europe. To gain a better understanding of the epidemiology of the diseases, basic knowledge about the overwintering of the vectors is needed. Therefore, we investigated culicoid activity in relation to air temperature at livestock stables during late winter and spring season. Ceratopogonids were captured weekly indoors and outdoors on three cattle farms, three horse farms and one sheep farm in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany between January and May, 2015 by BG-...
Mitchell G, Fuller A, Maloney SK, Rump N, Mitchell D.Selective brain cooling (SBC) is defined as the lowering of brain temperature below arterial blood temperature. Artiodactyls employ a carotid rete, an anatomical heat exchanger, to cool arterial blood shortly before it enters the brain. The survival advantage of this anatomy traditionally is believed to be a protection of brain tissue from heat injury, especially during exercise. Perissodactyls such as horses do not possess a carotid rete, and it has been proposed that their guttural pouches serve the heat-exchange function of the carotid rete by cooling the blood that traverses them, thus pro...
Reisen WK, Hardy JL, Presser SB, Chiles RE.The vector competence of Culex tarsalis Coquillett from the Coachella Valley of California for western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) viruses was monitored monthly from February to November 1993. The concentration of WEE virus required to infect 50% of the females increased during summer coincidentally with ambient temperature and was highest during July. Transmission rates of WEE virus were high during March, low during May-June, and high again during July-September. Females expressed both mesenteronal escape and salivary gland barriers limiting WEE virus diss...
Aragona F, Rizzo M, Arfuso F, Acri G, Fazio F, Piccione G, Giannetto C.The aim of the present study was to investigate eye temperature modifications after road transport in athletic horses habituated to travel. Eight adult Italian saddle horses traveled 100 km and, two weeks later, 300 km. Eye temperature (ET), rectal temperature (RT) and serum cortisol concentration were assessed before (T1), after (T2) and 60 min (T3) after the road transport. ET was evaluated with infrared thermography (IRT) in three regions of interest: EL1 (medial canthus), EL2 (central cornea) and EL3 (lateral canthus). Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures showed stati...
Hartmann E, Hopkins RJ, Blomgren E, Ventorp M, von Brömssen C, Dahlborn K.In Sweden, no provision for summer shelter to protect horses from heat and insects is required, although access to shelter for horses kept outdoors 24 h during winter is a requirement. This study investigated horses' daytime shelter-seeking behavior in relation to weather conditions and insect activity during a 2-wk period in summer. Eight Warmblood riding horses had access to 2 shelters of different design to test which shelter design is preferred by horses. Furthermore, rectal and skin temperatures and insect-defensive behavior were measured to test whether horses would benefit from the prov...
Peterson ML, Reiser RF, Kuo PH, Radford DW, McIlwraith CW.Differences in racing times have been noted on synthetic track surfaces that appear to depend on the temperature of the track. No published study to date has considered this effect in a systematic manner. Objective: To investigate the relationship between temperature of track and speed of horses racing on a synthetic surface. Potential changes in the wax component of the synthetic track were investigated as one possible cause of changes in the track speed at the temperatures observed. Methods: At Del Mar racetrack (California, USA), the air, surface and subsurface temperatures at 4 depths in t...
