Veterinary care in horses encompasses the medical and preventive measures taken to maintain and improve the health and well-being of equine patients. It includes a wide range of practices such as routine health examinations, vaccinations, dental care, parasite control, and management of injuries and diseases. Veterinary care also involves diagnostic procedures, surgical interventions, and therapeutic treatments tailored to the specific needs of horses. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of equine veterinary care, including advancements in diagnostic techniques, treatment protocols, and health management strategies to support the well-being and performance of horses.
Schwartz EJ, Costris-Vas C, Smith SR.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a lentivirus similar to HIV that infects horses. Clinical and experimental studies demonstrating immune control of EIAV infection hold promise for efforts to produce an HIV vaccine. Antibody infusions have been shown to block both wild-type and mutant virus infection, but the mutant sometimes escapes. Using these data, we develop a mathematical model that describes the interactions between antibodies and both wild-type and mutant virus populations, in the context of continual virus mutation. The aim of this work is to determine whether repeated vaccinat...
Herren FL, Gerber V, Meier R, Schweizer-Gorgas D, Klopfenstein Bregger MD.The volumes of equine teeth may change considerably over time for several reasons including domestication, routine dental floating, and the hypsodont and anelodont nature of the teeth. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) of the head is routinely performed in standing horses and, in this proof of concept study, the feasibility of measuring tooth volume from CBCT datasets was determined. The CBCT images of 5 equine cadaver cheek teeth were segmented with a software 3-dimensional (3D) Slicer using a predefined protocol, corrected manually, and re-assembled into a 3D model. Individual tooth volum...
Miyakoshi D, Higuchi T, Ikeda H, Sato M, Yoshimura S.To report a surgical technique and an outcome for the repair of a displaced, transverse scapular body fracture with locking compression plates (LCPs) in a colt. Methods: One 5 month old Thoroughbred colt. Methods: Case report. Methods: A colt sustained an unstable, comminuted, transverse fracture of the scapular body. Three 4.5/5.0 mm LCPs were used with 6.5 mm cancellous screws, 4.5 mm cortex screws, and 5.0 mm locking head screws. Implants were removed 2 months after surgery. Results: Surgical site infection was identified by purulent discharge at the distal aspect of the suture li...
Naef S, Steiger CN, Tabard-Fougère A, Dayer R, Ceroni D.Horse-related activities are increasingly popular among young people but are frequently associated with severe injuries requiring hospital treatment. There are few data on the incidence of equestrian injuries, especially in child populations, or on means of prevention. Thus, this study's purpose was to highlight the epidemiological data on specific injuries due to equestrianism and serve as the groundwork for future studies on the prevention of equestrian accidents. Methods: A retrospective study collected data on all children younger than 16 years old who attended our regional emergency depar...
Abbas G, Ghafar A, Hurley J, Bauquier J, Beasley A, Wilkes EJA, Jacobson C, El-Hage C, Cudmore L, Carrigan P, Tennent-Brown B, Gauci CG, Nielsen MK....Cyathostomins are the most important and common parasitic nematodes of horses, with > 50 species known to occur worldwide. The frequent and indiscriminate use of anthelmintics has resulted in the development of anthelmintic resistance (AR) in horse nematodes. In this study we assessed the efficacy of commonly used anthelmintics against cyathostomins in Australian thoroughbred horses. Methods: Two drug efficacy trials per farm were conducted on two thoroughbred horse farms in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the first trial, the horses on Farm A were treated with single and combinations ...
Thomson P, Toro J, Lara F, Hernández D, Aros K, Valenzuela-Lopez N.We present the first case of rhinopharyngitis due to Aspergillus fumigatus in a purebred Chilean horse. Clinically, manifested mucopurulent discharge from both nostrils, inflammation of the nasal, ocular, and ear mucosa; associated with decay and hyporexia. Based on the clinical signs and analysis of the mycological and molecular transtracheal aspirate sample, the present case was diagnosed as Aspergillus fumigatus rhinopharyngitis. After the antifungal susceptibility test, oral itraconazole treatment was maintained for 45 days, showing no clinical sign.
Oliveira T, Santos A, Silva J, Trindade P, Yamada A, Jaramillo F, Silva L, Baccarin R.In humans, hospitalisation, disease type, and environmental factors evidently affect the quality of sleep, further influencing patient recovery. The objective of the present study was to report the resting and lying behaviour of hospitalised horses, and whether lying behaviours differ depending on the physiological severity of joint damage. We hypothesised that the resting and lying behaviour can change during the hospitalisation and physiological severity of joint damage affect the time of rest in horses. A descriptive observational study was performed to evaluate the effect of hospitalisatio...
Kinoshita Y, Kakoi H, Ishige T, Yamanaka T, Niwa H, Uchida-Fujii E, Nukada T, Ueno T.Taylorella equigenitalis causes contagious equine metritis. Here we compared seven nucleic acid amplification tests for T. equigenitalis to select a rapid and reliable diagnostic method. The 95% detection limits of each assay varied greatly: real-time PCR had the lowest detection limit (0.77 fg/reaction); those of some of the conventional PCRs (cPCRs) were >100 fg/reaction. In experimentally infected samples, real-time PCR and semi-nested PCR showed the highest positive numbers (33 out of 42 samples), but two of the cPCRs detected only 2 and 7 positive results. Our results indicate that the us...
Khazaeel K, Pesarakli H, Mashhadi AG, Borujeni MP.Accurate estimation of a horse's age based on the condition of the tooth status is necessary as a scientific and artistic technique, which has not been performed so far in pure Arabian horses of Khuzestan (southern west of Iran). This study aimed to investigate the age-dependent changes in the morphology and morphometry of the incisors in Arabian mares of Khuzestan to estimate age and to compare the estimated dental age and actual age. In this study, 78 Arabian mares of Khuzestan were examined in several equestrian clubs. Then, images were taken with a digital camera from the vestibular and oc...
Puolakkainen T, Marttila E, Thorén H, Snäll J.Patients with equine-related injuries (ERI) have high rates of hospitalization and often require surgical treatment. This study aimed to clarify the injury profiles of patients sustaining ERI-related craniofacial fractures and their relationship with other severe head and neck injuries.This retrospective study included all patients with craniofacial fractures admitted to a tertiary trauma center during 2013 to 2018. Out of 3256 patients, a total of 39 patients were included in the study (1.2%). Demographic and clinically relevant variables were reported and statistically evaluated.Males repres...
Jaafar SE, Al-Bayti AAH, Abdullah SI.High-power laser therapy has been used as a treatment to cure sports injuries; however, there are no controlled standardized studies on its efficacy. Moreover, high-power laser therapy has been applied for the sport horses field. This study aimed to investigate whether high-power laser therapy can cure tendon disorders and reduce the pain in tendon lesions in injured horses and also to examine the effect of laser therapy on injured horses. This retroactive experiential clinical research was performed on50 racing horses between 5 and 15 years old. They were diagnosed with neither superficial di...
Westendorf J, Wobeser B, Epp T.The Kenney-Doig scale is a histopathology categorization (grading) system often used as the standard for assessing endometrial disease and communicating prognostic fertility information for equine breeding prospects. We investigated how Kenney-Doig categories compared within the same institution and across different institutions to determine if observer variability may contribute to category frequencies. We conducted a retrospective analysis of all equine endometrial submission records between 1998 and 2018 at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and Prairie Diagnostic Services (P...
van Proosdij R, Frietman S.Geriatric horses (>15 years) represent a substantial proportion of the equine population. The objective of this study was to (1) report on the cause of death in geriatric horses on a single retirement centre, (2) to evaluate the relationship between PPID status, and mortality rate. Data of 194 horses was collected over an eight-year period. This providing data for 80 geriatric cases of mortality. The average age of horses that died was 26.2 years (±4.8 years). The majority (95%) of mortalities were euthanised, most frequently due to colic (20%), old age (19%), and lameness (15%). Overall m...
Page AE, Wood C, Partridge E, Horohov DW, Adam E.The use of lipopolysaccharide to induce a localized source of inflammation (acute synovitis) and allow for monitoring of changes in systemic mRNA expression has been recently reported. Here, the goal was to maintain a significant systemic mRNA response while limiting the severity of lameness such that this model can be used to examine the effects of various anti-inflammatory treatment modalities on mRNA expression. Three mixed breeds, four-year-old geldings were utilized for this study. One milliliter of phosphate-buffered saline containing 1,000 ng or less of lipopolysaccharide from E. coli O...
Vautravers G, Audigié F, Denoix JM.To describe scintigraphic and transrectal ultrasonographic anatomic variants of the lumbosacral (LS) articulation in horses and to determine the agreement between results obtained with each imaging modality. 243 horses (81 Selle Français Warmbloods, 81 French Standardbred Trotters, and 81 Thoroughbreds). A retrospective search of clinical records was conducted to identify horses that had undergone nuclear scintigraphy and transrectal ultrasonography of the LS region of the vertebral column between January 2016 and December 2019. Scintigraphic images were evaluated by 2 observers blinded to th...
Fielding CL, Magdesian KG.To evaluate changes in electrolyte concentrations and hydration status that take place in endurance horses prior to the start of a competition and determine whether these changes would be associated with elimination. Methods: 19 horses entered in the 2016 Tevis Cup 100-Miles (160 km) One-Day Western States Trail Ride. Methods: Heparinized blood samples were collected at 5 time points: prior to transport to the ride (T0), during check-in the day before the ride (T1), 1 to 2 hours before the start of the ride (T2), at the 15-km mark (T3), and at the 55-km mark (T4). Packed cell volume and plasma...
Zhao Q, Tao C, Pan J, Wei Q, Zhu Z, Wang L, Liu M, Huang J, Yu F, Chen X, Zhang L, Li J.Fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) technology uses exogenous reproductive hormones to regulate the sexual cycle and ovulation of sows without oestrus identification, which improves the sow breeding utilisation rate, reduces the number of non-productive days, and elevates the efficiency of pig farm management. In this study, we aimed to optimise FTAI procedures. Healthy 190-day-old and about 90 kg Large White × Landrace crossing breed replacement gilts (n = 166) which were of unknown reproductive status were randomly selected and divided into three groups: a control group (n = 62...
Philip M, Karakka Kal AK, Subhahar MB, Karatt TK, Mathew B, Perwad Z.Performance-enhancing substances and methods have become a serious problem in competitive sports. The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) stabilizers can enhance the organism's capacity for molecular oxygen transport and are likely to be abused as performance-enhancing agents in sports. This paper describes the metabolic conversion of the popular hypoxia inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH) inhibitors, namely, daprodustat, desidustat, and vadadustat using equine liver microsomes, determined on a QExactive high-resolution mass spectrometer. During this study, a total of 10 metabolites for da...
Gao Y, Hannan MA, Murata K, Rajabi-Toustani R, Nambo Y.Equine-Assisted Therapy (EAT) is gaining popularity. Ultrasound examination is used to decrease the abortion rate in horses. In this study, to monitor fetal well-being throughout the gestation for EAT, we measured fetal heart rate (FHR), fetal eye orbit (FEO), fetal gonad length (FGL), fetal kidney length (FKL), and the combined thickness of the uterus and placenta (CTUP) by ultrasonography in pony mares. Additionally, we measured the plasma progesterone (P4) and estradiol (E2) concentrations in pregnant horses using enzyme immunoassay. The FGL peaked at week 32 and then decreased to term, and...
Hale J, Hughes K, Hall S, Labens R.Autologous conditioned serum (ACS) is a common intra-articular treatment for osteoarthritis in horses. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of ACS preparation method on product contamination and concentrations of relevant cytokines and the influence of multiple freeze/thaw cycles. Blood was obtained from 10 healthy Thoroughbred horses and processed in parallel using a commercial and a non-commercial method to obtain ACS. Fluorescent microsphere immunoassay (FMIA) analysis was performed to quantify Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), Interleukin-10 (IL-10), Inter...
Saini S, Singha H, Shanmugasundaram K, Tripathi BN.Burkholderia mallei causes a highly fatal infectious disease in equines known as glanders. It is one of the OIE listed notifiable diseases, which entails strict control policy measures once B. mallei infection is confirmed in the susceptible hosts. Humans, especially equine handlers, veterinary professionals and laboratory workers are at greater risk to acquire the B. mallei infection directly through prolonged contact with glanderous equines, and indirectly through unprotected handling of B. mallei contaminated materials. Further, natural resistance of B. mallei to multiple antibiotics, aeros...
Pereira MM, Artemiou E, De Pedro P, Adams C, Ritter C.Effective clinical communication can aid veterinarians in building good client relationships, increase adherence to recommendations and, ultimately, improve patient health and welfare. However, available information on veterinary communication in the equine context is limited. The objective of this study was to describe the communication of veterinary students in the equine environment who had previous communication training. Additionally, we assessed the suitability of the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) for the analysis of audio-video recordings of equine wellness consultations. Met...
Rahmani SS, Malekifard F, Tavassoli M.Neospora caninum is an Apicomplexan parasite that can cause enormous economic losses due to abortions in cattle. The present study investigated the role of Neospora spp. infection in equine abortion in Iranian donkeys using molecular and phylogenetic analyses. Twenty-nine-aborted fetuses and 29 blood samples from their dams were collected from six different regions in the West and Northwest of Iran. They were tested for N. caninum by PCR at the Nc5 locus, followed by sequencing of five of the PCR products. The overall molecular prevalence was 34.5% in blood samples and the prevalence by DNA de...
Hermans H, van den Berg EMH, Slenter IJM, Vendrig DJC, de Nijs-Tjon LJL, Vernooij JCM, Brommer H, Boevé MH, Gehring R.Topical dexamethasone and prednisolone are currently the mainstay treatment for equine ophthalmic inflammatory diseases, such as equine recurrent uveitis. Comparative pharmacokinetic studies in horses are lacking and current guidelines are mainly based on empirical data and extrapolation from other species. Objective: To investigate the penetration and local concentrations of topically applied dexamethasone and prednisolone in normal equine ocular fluids and serum. Methods: Prospective randomised experimental pharmacokinetic study. Methods: Twenty-one Shetland ponies without ophthalmic disease...
Orsolini MF, Meyers SA, Dini P.As the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and in vitro embryo production (IVP) expand in the equine industry, it has become necessary to further our understanding of available semen selection techniques. This segment of our two-section review will focus on the selection of spermatozoa based on quality and sex for equine intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), as well as current and future developments in sperm sorting technologies. Ultimately, novel methods of semen selection will be assessed based on their efficacy in other species and their relevance and future application towa...
Lee SK, Park D, Lee I.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) causes equine hepatitis. The prevalence of EqPV-H in healthy horses has been reported in the United States, China, Germany, and Austria. The present study determined the prevalence of EqPV-H in the sera of clinically healthy horses in South Korea to identify the potential factors for infection and examine the genetic diversity of EqPV-H DNA sequences through comparison with foreign strains. Serum samples collected from 321 horses were tested for EqPV-H using non-structural protein 1 (NS1)-specific polymerase chain reaction. The associations of EqPV-H infect...
Sakurai M, Isshiki S, Sasaki N, Sakai Y, Yamada Y, Morimoto M.A 7-year-old male Thoroughbred horse exhibited recurrent falls followed by convulsive seizures. The horse was clinically diagnosed with epilepsy and phenobarbital treatment was initiated. However, as seizure control was unsuccessful, the animal was euthanized. At necropsy, yellow-brown linear lesions were found extensively at the U-fibres and cingulate gyrus within the cerebral white matter. Histopathologically, linear demyelination and occasional cavitation were observed. Glial cells with yellow-brown pigment granules, which were autofluorescent, positive to the periodic acid-Schiff reaction ...
Rodríguez-Pozo ML, Armengou L, Viu J, Ríos J, Jose-Cunilleras E.Peritoneal bile acids concentration (PBAC) has not been previously reported in horses. A case of liver lobe torsion in which increased PBAC was detected prompted us to study PBAC in horses. Objective: (a) To determine a reference range of PBAC in horses; (b) to compare PBAC from horses with either hepatic or gastrointestinal disease and healthy horses and (c) to assess the prognostic and diagnostic values of PBAC. Methods: Prospective case-control. Methods: Prospective observational clinical study. Bile acids concentrations were measured in both plasma and peritoneal fluid in selected clinical...
van Veggel ECS, Selberg KT, van der Velde-Hoogelander B, Vanderperren K, Cokelaere SM, Bergman HJ. To describe the MRI findings for 13 horses with deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) injury at the proximal phalanx where the tendon goes from ovoid to bilobed in frontlimbs with tendon sheath distension. In addition, the prognosis of this lesion was assessed. Retrospective case series. Thirteen client-owned horses. Medical records were reviewed, and data were collected regarding signalment, history, MRI findings, and outcomes of horses. Findings of MRI were recorded and whether the case was confirmed with tenoscopy. A diagnosis of DDFT injury at the junction between ovoid and bilobed portio...
Patteson MW, Gibbs C, Wotton PR, Cripps PJ.Cardiac dimensions and indices of cardiac function were measured in 29 clinically normal adult Thoroughbreds (TB) which performed minimal exercise using guided M-mode and two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography, from a variety of image planes and measurement methods, and standardised imaging planes based on intracardiac anatomical landmarks. The different methods of measuring these variables were compared. The variables which were considered to be most valuable for quantitative echocardiography were measured in a further 9 horses. Comparable measurements of cardiac dimensions can be obtained fr...
Lindgren K, Ljungvall O, Nilsson O, Ljungström BL, Lindahl C, Höglund J.Environmental contamination and the egg excretion pattern of the ascarid Parascaris equorum (Nematoda) was investigated in relation to anthelmintic treatment on a Swedish stud farm. Faecal samples from 15 foals, dewormed every 8th-week with a paste formulation of ivermectin at the standard dose rate of 0.2 mg/kg bodyweight, were collected at five sampling occasions between August and November 2006. In addition, soil samples were obtained from four paddocks used by these foals in November 2006. The number of eggs per gram (epg) was counted in both faeces and soil. Egg excretion started when the...
Earley E, Rawlinson JT.This article discusses the classification systems for dental fractures and how the assessment affects treatment options. Diagonal incisor malocclusion is discussed in relation to skull asymmetry and how this commonly relates to premolar and molar occlusion. Oral and radiographic assessment of incisive bone fracture and incisor avulsion is reviewed for determining treatment options. A summary of incisor and canine resorption and hypercementosis is presented. Clinical presentations, staging, and classifications of tooth resorption as well as canine odontoplasty are discussed. Excessive plaque an...
Frisbie DD, Mc Ilwraith CW, Arthur RM, Blea J, Baker VA, Billinghurst RC.Biomarkers have shown some in vivo promise for the detection of musculoskeletal injuries, but further study to assess biomarker levels in clinical orthopaedic disease is required. Objective: To assess 7 serum biomarkers for the detection of musculoskeletal injuries. Methods: Two- and 3-year-old racehorses were entered into the study (n = 238). Exit criteria were lack of training for >30 days, or completion of 10 study months. Data from horses with solitary musculoskeletal injuries and completion of >2 months were analysed. Musculoskeletal injury was considered intra-articular fragmentation (IA...
Kowalik S, Janczarek I, Kędzierski W, Stachurska A, Wilk I.The objective of this study was to assess the effect of relaxing massage on the heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in young racehorses during their first racing season. In the study, 72 Purebred Arabian racehorses were included. The study was implemented during the full race season. The horses from control and experimental groups were included in regular race training 6 days a week. The horses from the experimental group were additionally subject to the relaxing massage 3 days a week during the whole study. HR and HRV were assumed as indicators of the emotional state of the horse...
Isgren CM, Upjohn MM, Fernandez-Fuente M, Massey C, Pollott G, Verheyen KL, Piercy RJ.Exertional rhabdomyolysis syndrome is recognised in many athletic horse breeds and in recent years specific forms of the syndrome have been identified. However, although Standardbred horses are used worldwide for racing, there is a paucity of information about the epidemiological and performance-related aspects of the syndrome in this breed. The objectives of this study therefore were to determine the incidence, risk factors and performance effects of exertional rhabdomyolysis syndrome in Standardbred trotters and to compare the epidemiology and genetics of the syndrome with that in other bree...
Scocco P, Pedini V.This study was performed to identify the equine respiratory tract areas which express the specific receptor for equine influenza virus; findings may be useful to provide new ways to treat the infectious disease. The present work aims to visualize in situ the presence of sialoderivatives in the horse respiratory tract in order to localize sialoderivatives acting as influenza virus receptors. To this purpose, nasal mucosae, trachea, bronchus and lung parenchyma were removed from 8 mature horses of both sexes. We performed sialic acid characterization by means of mild and strong periodate oxidati...
Reef VB, Reimer JM, Spencer PA.Forty-one horses were treated for atrial fibrillation (AF) with 22 mg/kg quinidine sulfate via nasogastric tube every 2 hours until conversion to sinus rhythm, a cumulative dose of 88 to 132 mg/kg had been administered in 2-hour increments, or the horse had adverse or toxic effects from the drug. Treatment intervals were prolonged to every 6 hours if conversion had not occurred. Digoxin was administered before treatment if the horse had a fractional shortening < or = 27% (3 horses), was prone to tachycardia (resting heart rate > or = 60 beats/min) (1 horse), or had a previous history of sustai...
Loftus JP, Black SJ, Pettigrew A, Abrahamsen EJ, Belknap JK.To determine proinflammatory gene expression, endothelial adhesion molecule gene expression, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) concentrations in laminar specimens at 1.5 hours after administration of black walnut extract (BWE) and to compare these values with later time points. Methods: 25 horses. Methods: After nasogastric administration of BWE, anesthesia was induced at 1.5 hours in early time point (ETP) horses (n = 5), between 3 and 4 hours in developmental time point horses (5), and between 9 and 10 hours in acute onset of lameness time point horses (5). Anesthesia was induced at 3 and 1...
Jeffcott LB, Dalin G.The functional anatomy of the thoracolumbar (TL) spine is considered in relation to the horse's ability to perform at speed and to jump. The morphological features quite clearly show the relative inflexibility of the equine back and this was confirmed by some experimental studies. Fresh post mortem specimens from 5 Thoroughbreds were used to estimate the limits of dorsoventral movement of the TL spine from mid-thoracic to the cranial lumbar (T10-L2). The individual spinous processes could be moved a mean 1.1-6.0 mm on maximum ventroflexion and 0.8-3.8 mm on dorsiflexion. The overall flexibilit...
Ackermann K, Kenngott R, Settles M, Gerhards H, Maierl J, Wollanke B.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) causes painful inflammatory attacks and oftentimes blindness in the affected eyes. The disease is considered a late sequela of systemic leptospirosis. The most effective therapy is the surgical removal of the vitreous (vitrectomy), which is not only therapeutic, but provides vitreous material that can be assessed diagnostically. For example, the lipL32 gene, culturable Leptospira spp., and anti-Leptospira antibodies have all been detected in vitreous samples obtained from eyes with chronic ERU. Despite this clear evidence of leptospiral involvement, the systemic ...
Relf VE, Morgan ER, Hodgkinson JE, Matthews JB.Improved education of veterinarians and equine owners/managers is essential in implementing parasite control strategies that are less reliant on chemicals. Methods: This questionnaire study, conducted on 61 UK Thoroughbred (TB) establishments during 2009 and 2010, was designed to obtain an understanding of current helminth control practices on studs. To our knowledge, this is the first occasion that statements obtained from TB studs via questionnaire have been supported by statistical analysis. Results: Despite many respondents indicating high levels of concern regarding anthelmintic resistanc...
Mosunic CB, Moore PA, Carmicheal KP, Chandler MJ, Vidyashankar A, Zhao Y, Roberts RE, Dietrich UM.To determine the effects of treatment with and without adjuvant radiation therapy on recurrence of ocular and adnexal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) at specific anatomic locations in horses. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 91 horses. Methods: Medical records of horses with histologically confirmed ocular and adnexal SCC evaluated from 1985 to 2002 were reviewed. Sex, breed, age, type of treatment, location, and recurrence of SCC were recorded. Two treatment groups determined by recurrence of SCCs treated with and without adjuvant radiation therapy were established. Results: The anatomic ...
Thomas CM, Murray R, Sharif M.The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between the extent of chondrocyte apoptosis and expression of the articular cartilage (AC) extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and fibronectin. Methods: Cartilage from four sites (when available) on equine left middle carpal joints (n = 12) were used. Expression of COMP and fibronectin was determined using specific polyclonal antibodies and a biotin-streptavidin/peroxidase method. The intensity of staining for matrix molecules was graded (none, mild, moderate, strong) in each cartilage zone. ...
Cequier A, Sanz C, Rodellar C, Barrachina L.The differentiation ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) initially raised interest for treating musculoskeletal injuries in horses, but MSC paracrine activity has widened their scope for inflammatory and immune-mediated pathologies in both equine and human medicine. Furthermore, the similar etiopathogenesis of some diseases in both species has advanced the concept of "One Medicine, One Health". This article reviews the current knowledge on the use of MSCs for equine pathologies beyond the locomotor system, highlighting the value of the horse as translational model. Ophthalmologic and repro...
Stieger-Vanegas SM, Hanna AL.Computed tomography (CT) imaging of the head in equine patients is now commonly performed as CT scanners are more readily available. Head CT has proven valuable in evaluating spatially complex anatomic structures, where radiographic superimposition, or restricted access endoscopy or ultrasound, limit complete evaluation of the disease process. Head CT has been demonstrated to be incredibly valuable in the evaluation of dental and paranasal sinus disease, disease of the hyoid apparatus and ear, and in evaluation of skull trauma. CT is an excellent modality for assessment of both osseous and so...
Kuzmina TA, Kuzmin YI, Kharchenko VA.Experimental studies on the survival of infective stage larvae of horse strongyles and their ability to overwinter on pasture were carried out in central Ukraine (Poltavska oblast). Faecal pats (1.5 kg each) of naturally infected horses were placed on pasture, and samples of faeces and surrounding vegetation (10 g each) were collected each month, excluding the winter months, from November 2002 until April 2004. The number of infective third stage larvae was calculated in each sample and compared with that from the control faecal samples cultivated in the laboratory. In the control samples, the...
Yasuda R, Kawano J, Onda H, Takagi M, Shimizu A, Anzai T.To determine patterns of methicillin-resistant staphylococci isolated from apparently healthy horses. Methods: 44 horses from 8 riding clubs in Japan. Methods: Methicill in-resistant staphylococci were isolated from the skin or nares, using a selective medium containing a beta-(symboric) lactam antibiotic, ceftizoxime. Clonality of isolates was determined by use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Detection of mecA, mecl, and mecR1 genes was accomplished by use of polymerase chain reactions. Results: Of the 44 horses, 13 (29.5%) yielded 15 isolates of methicillin-resistant staphylococci. The ...
Ramzan PH, Palmer L.Musculoskeletal injury is the most common cause of lost training days in the young Thoroughbred horse in flat race training. To date, there has been little investigation of the regional patterns of injury frequently observed by clinicians in racehorse practice. The present study was conducted to determine incidence of musculoskeletal injuries in Thoroughbreds in training in Newmarket, United Kingdom. Veterinary records for all horses resident in three large (>100 horse) training yards were assessed for occurrence of significant musculoskeletal injury. A total of 248 injuries were recorded in 2...
Busk P, Jacobsen S, Martinussen T.To compare postoperative inflammatory responses in horses administered perioperative procaine penicillin and those not administered penicillin using acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) as a marker of inflammation. Methods: Randomized clinical trial. Methods: Stallions (n=50) castrated under field conditions. Methods: SAA concentrations were determined on days 0, 3, and 8. Six horses were subsequently excluded because of elevated SAA concentrations on day 0. Of the remaining 50 horses, 26 were administered nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy and 24 were administered NSAID ...
Bordin AI, Suchodolski JS, Markel ME, Weaver KB, Steiner JM, Dowd SE, Pillai S, Cohen ND.Rhodococcus equi is an important pathogen of foals. Enteral administration of live, virulent R. equi during early life has been documented to protect against subsequent intrabronchial challenge with R. equi, indicating that enteral mucosal immunization may be protective. Evidence exists that mucosal immune responses develop against both live and inactivated micro-organisms. The extent to which live or inactivated R. equi might alter the intestinal microbiome of foals is unknown. This is an important question because the intestinal microbiome of neonates of other species is known to change over...
Canty MJ, Fogarty U, Sheridan MK, Ensley SM, Schrunk DE, More SJ.Four primary mycotoxicosis have been reported in livestock caused by fungal infections of grasses or cereals by members of the Clavicipitaceae family. Ergotism (generally associated with grasses, rye, triticale and other grains) and fescue toxicosis (associated with tall fescue grass, Festuca arundinacea) are both caused by ergot alkaloids, and referred to as 'ergot alkaloid intoxication'. Ryegrass staggers (associated with perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne) is due to intoxication with an indole-diperpene, Lolitrem B, and metabolites. Fescue-associated oedema, recently described in Australia, ...
Donaldson MT, Jorgensen AJ, Beech J.To determine prevalence and clinical features of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in horses with laminitis. Methods: Case series. Methods: 40 horses with laminitis. Methods: Horses with laminitis that survived an initial episode of pain and were not receiving medications known to alter the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis were tested for PPID by evaluation of endogenous plasma ACTH concentration. Signalment, suspected cause, month of onset and duration of laminitis, Obel grade of lameness, pedal bone rotation, physical examination findings, results of endocrine function tests, t...
Chhabra S, Ranjan R, Uppal SK, Singla LD.This article communicates the first per-acute and fatal clinical report of transplacental transmission of Theileria equi from carrier mothers to foals from Punjab, India. Two cases of equine piroplasmosis due to T. equi were diagnosed in neonatal foals borne to Throughbred mares. High degree of parasitemia with annular and maltese cross shaped parasites in erythrocytes was seen in both cases. Blood cellular changes revealed leucopenia and neutropenia with mild degenerative left shift. Anaemia was macrocytic normochromic type. Intense yellow discoloration of mucous membranes indicated jaundice....
Hausberger M, Lerch N, Guilbaud E, Stomp M, Grandgeorge M, Henry S, Lesimple C.Although the question of animal welfare has been an important source of concern in the scientific community for several decades, many aspects are still under debate. On-farm assessments have to be rapid, acceptable to farmers and safe for both the assessors and animals. They are thus very demanding, with multiple decisions to make, such as the choice of appropriate indicators, sampling methods and scoring. Research has moved from resource-based to animal-based criteria, which reflects the subjective welfare state of an animal rather than relying upon external indices. In the present review, we...
Munsters CC, de Gooijer JW, van den Broek J, van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.Heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV) and behaviour score (BS) of nine horses were evaluated during an eight-hour air transport between The Netherlands and New York. HR and HRV parameters were calculated every five minutes during the air transport. Compared with transit (40±3), mean HRs were higher during loading into the jet stall (67±21, P<0.001), loading into the aircraft (47±6, P=0.011), taxiing (50±8, P=0.001), and during periods of in-flight turbulence (46±7, P=0.017). During the flight, individual horses showed differences in mean HR (P=0.005) and peak HR (P<0.001). By contra...
Suagee JK, Corl BA, Crisman MV, Wearn JG, McCutcheon LJ, Geor RJ.The lipogenic capacities of equine liver and adipose tissue explants were investigated in vitro. Preference for glucose or acetate as the primary carbon source for de novo fatty acid synthesis was determined using (14)C labeled substrates. Additional aims included determining the relative contribution of NADPH generating pathways to reducing equivalent generation and comparing the lipogenic activity of two adipose depots, mesenteric and subcutaneous harvested from the crest region of the neck. Mesenteric adipose tissue had greater lipogenic activity than subcutaneous adipose tissue, and liver ...
Barquero N, Daly JM, Newton JR.Between March and May 2003, clinical equine influenza was confirmed among vaccinated racehorses in Newmarket, UK. A particular feature was that 2-year-old horses were apparently less susceptible than older animals. Statistical analyses comparing infected and non-infected animals showed the unusual, apparently counter-intuitive inverse age effect was principally explained by more recent vaccination among younger animals, despite broadly equivalent antibody levels between age groups. There was novel evidence for sexual dimorphism in susceptibility to infection and data supported the hypothesis t...
Santos EM, Paula JF, Motta PM, Heinemann MB, Leite RC, Haddad JP, Del Puerto HL, Reis JK.We compared three different protocols for DNA extraction from horse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and lung fragments, determining average final DNA concentration, purity, percentage of PCR amplification using beta-actin, and cost. Thirty-four samples from PBMC, and 33 samples from lung fragments were submitted to DNA extraction by three different protocols. Protocol A consisted of a phenol-chloroform and isoamylic alcohol extraction, Protocol B used alkaline extraction with NaOH, and Protocol C used the DNAzol((R)) reagent kit. Protocol A was the best option for DNA extraction from...
Parkes RSV, Weller R, Pfau T, Witte TH.Objective gait monitoring is increasingly accessible to trainers. A more comprehensive understanding of 'normal' gait adaptations is required. Forty two-year-old thoroughbred racehorses were recruited when entering training and followed for 22 months. Gait analysis was performed by equipping each horse with an inertial measurement unit with inbuilt GPS (GPS-IMU) mounted on the dorsum. Horses were exercised as per their regular training regimen. Data were analysed using a linear mixed model. For two-year-old horses, there was a non-linear pattern of stride duration (SD) over time ( < 0.001) ...
