Veterinary medicine for horses encompasses the study and application of medical practices to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases in equine species. This field involves a comprehensive understanding of equine anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Veterinary practitioners employ a range of diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions to address health issues in horses, including lameness, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory conditions, and infectious diseases. Preventative care, such as vaccination and deworming programs, is also a significant aspect of equine veterinary medicine. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of veterinary medicine as it pertains to horses, including advancements in diagnostic techniques, treatment protocols, and preventive health strategies.
Stonex TM, Zibura AE, Andres M, Gilger BC, Oh A.To describe the use of 1% polidocanol as the sole treatment for a superficial orbital venous malformation in a horse. Methods: A 23-year-old Welsh Cobb cross gelding with a distensible swelling affecting the left lower eyelid, and secondary palpebral margin abnormalities and superficial keratitis. Methods: Color flow Doppler ultrasonography revealed non-pulsatile blood flow within the tortuous vascular network most consistent with a superficial orbital venous malformation appearing to involve the lateral palpebral and transverse facial veins. An intravenous catheter was placed within the later...
Leal GR, Monteiro CAS, Carvalheira LR, Souza-Fabjan JMG.Simulated Physiological Oocyte Maturation (SPOM) mimics in vitro the physiological events of oocyte maturation. The system uses cAMP modulators in two steps (pre IVM and IVM) and has presented promising results that are arousing the curiosity of IVF programs in different animal species, generating several papers, adaptations, and controversies worldwide. This study systematically analyses the data in the literature on the use of SPOM and compares the outcomes to the original paper (Albuz et al. Hum. Rep., 25: 2999-3011 2010), classifying them into success or failure. The PubMed, Scopus, and ...
Hoffmann SL, Seminoff K, McKemie DS, Kass PH, Knych HK.Grapiprant is a prostaglandin E2 receptor antagonist that has been found to be an effective anti-inflammatory in dogs and that is devoid of some of the adverse effects associated with traditional NSAIDs that elicit their effects through inhibition of PGE2 production. Previously published reports have described the pharmacokinetics of this drug in horses when administered at 2 mg/kg; however, pharmacodynamic effects in this species have yet to be described. The objective of the current study was to describe the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of grapiprant at a higher dose. Eight horses...
Elane GL, Biedrzycki AH, McCarrel TM, Banks SA, Morton AJ.To quantify the translation and angular rotation of the distal sesamoid bone (DSB) using computed tomography (CT) and medical modeling software. Methods: 30 thoracic limbs from equine cadavers. Methods: Partial (n = 12), full (8), and matched full and subsequently transected (10) thoracic limbs were collected. Bone volume CT images were acquired in three positions: extension (200° metacarpophalangeal angle), neutral (180°), and maximal flexion (110°). Mean translation and angular rotation of each DSB were recorded. Differences were determined with two-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey's tests fo...
Kendall A, Ekman S, Skiöldebrand E.Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin that has been implicated in pain signaling, apoptosis, inflammation and proliferation. The resultant effects depend on interaction with two different receptors; tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) and p75 . NGF increases in synovial fluid from osteoarthritic joints, and monoclonal antibody therapy is trialed to treat osteoarthritis (OA)-related pain. Investigation of the complex and somewhat contradictory signaling pathways of NGF is conducted in neural research, but has not followed through to orthopaedic studies. The objectives of this study were to compare t...
Marchese GA, Crystal J, Louro LF.Prevalence and risk factors of severe hypoxemia in anesthetized horses undergoing emergency exploratory laparotomy are sparsely documented. The aim of this study was to report incidence of severe hypoxemia ( PaO2 < 60 mmHg) in horses undergoing emergency exploratory laparotomy and identify potential risk factors for this complication. A single center retrospective cross sectional designed was used. Clinical data of 714 horses undergoing general anesthesia for emergency explorative laparotomy were reviewed. A backward stepwise elimination procedure was used to determine the final multivariable ...
Madsen LM, Gutierrez-Nibeyro SD, Stewart MC, McCoy AM, Schaeffer DJ.To determine the stance duration and ground reaction forces (GRF) of horses with deep digital flexor (DDF) tendinopathy at the level of the foot and compare the stance duration and GRF to those of clinically sound horses. Unassigned: Prospective clinical study. Unassigned: Sixteen horses (seven horses with bilateral forelimb lameness, four horses with unilateral forelimb lameness, and five horses with no lameness). Unassigned: Analyses of kinetic variables were performed on both forelimbs from sound horses and horses diagnosed with chronic DDF tendinopathy. Stance duration and longitudinal and...
Gazzonis AL, Morganti G, Porcellato I, Roccabianca P, Avallone G, Gavaudan S, Canonico C, Rigamonti G, Brachelente C, Veronesi F. is a protozoan causing human zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) and visceral-cutaneous canine leishmaniosis (CanL) in the Mediterranean Basin. is able to infect a large number of wild and domestic species, including cats, dogs, and horses. Since the 1990s, clinical cases of equine leishmaniasis (EL), typically characterized by cutaneous forms, have been increasingly diagnosed worldwide. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence of clinical forms of EL in CanL-endemic areas in Italy, where exposure of equine populations was ascertained from recent serological surveys. For t...
Cock G, Blakeney Z, Hernandez JA, DeNotta S.Atlantoaxial (AA) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection in standing horses utilizes the controlled narcotic morphine, thereby limiting feasibility in field practice settings. Objective: To compare AA CSF collection time and reaction scores in horses sedated with morphine-containing and opioid-free sedation protocols: detomidine + morphine (DM), detomidine + xylazine (DX), detomidine + detomidine (DD), detomidine alone (D0); To develop a novel method for assessing sedation in standing horses using open-source motion-tracking software. Methods: Six healthy adult horses. Methods: Randomi...
Loos CMM, Urschel KL, Vanzant ES, Oberhaus EL, Bohannan AD, Klotz JL, McLeod KR.The objectives of the study were to study the effects of the synthetic ergot alkaloid (EA), bromocriptine, on glucose and lipid metabolism in insulin dysregulated (ID, n = 7) and non-ID (n = 8) mares. Horses were individually housed and fed timothy grass hay and two daily concentrate meals so that the total diet provided 120% of daily DE requirements for maintenance. All horses were given intramuscular bromocriptine injections (0.1 mg/kg BW) every 3 days for 14 days. Before and after 14 days of treatment horses underwent a combined glucose-insulin tolerance test (CGIT) to assess insulin sensit...
Lee DH, Lee EB, Seo JP, Ko EJ.Despite vaccination, equine influenza virus (EIV) and equine herpesvirus (EHV) infections still cause highly contagious respiratory diseases in horses. Recently, concurrent vaccination with EIV and EHV was suggested as a new approach; however, there have been no reports of concurrent vaccination with recombinant canarypox EIV and inactivated EHV vaccines. In this study, we aimed to compare the EIV-specific immune responses induced by concurrent administrations of a recombinant canarypox EIV vaccine and an inactivated bivalent EHV vaccine with those induced by a single recombinant canarypox EIV...
Pien N, Van de Maele Y, Parmentier L, Meeremans M, Mignon A, De Schauwer C, Peeters I, De Wilde L, Martens A, Mantovani D, Van Vlierberghe S....Hand tendon injuries represent a major clinical problem and might dramatically diminish a patient's life quality. In this study, a targeted solution for flexor tendon repair was developed by combining a mechanical and biological approach. To this end, a novel acrylate-endcapped urethane-based polymer (AUP) was synthesized and its physico-chemical properties were characterized. Next, tubular repair constructs were developed using electrospinning of the AUP material with incorporated naproxen and hyaluronic acid (i.e. anti-inflammatory and anti-adhesion compounds, respectively), and with a tubul...
da Conceição FFCB, de Mattos BHV, Sá PA, Marçola TG, da Silva GA, Teixeira HCA, Campebell RC.Due to the scarcity of information on Breton horses, the objective was to study hematobiochemical values of this breed. Blood samples were collected from 29 Bretons, males and females, of different ages, in Brasília-DF, distributed into groups, according to age, without distinction of sex (G1): animals from 4 to 9 years old (n=16) and (G2): from 10 to 26 years old (n=13). The horses were also distributed into males and females for comparisons between the sexes. Values for red blood cells, hemoglobin, creatinine, and urea were statistically higher in females. Fibrinogen was higher in males. Ly...
Vernemmen I, Paulussen E, Dauvillier J, Decloedt A, van Loon G.This case report describes the 2-dimensional transthoracic (2D-TTE), 3-dimensional transthoracic (3D-TTE) and intracardiac echocardiographic (ICE) characterization of the fossa ovalis region in 2 horses. The first case was presented for poor performance and showed an anechoic zone in the interatrial septum on 2D-TTE. Based on 3D-TTE a deepened fossa ovalis could be identified and using ICE the presence of an interatrial shunt could be excluded. The second case was referred for a cardiac murmur and the presence of turbulent flow in and around the interatrial septum on 2D-TTE color flow Doppler....
Gilbertie JM, Schaer TP, Engiles JB, Seiler GS, Deddens BL, Schubert AG, Jacob ME, Stefanovski D, Ruthel G, Hickok NJ, Stowe DM, Frink A, Schnabel LV.The leading cause of treatment failure in Staphylococcus aureus infections is the development of biofilms. Biofilms are highly tolerant to conventional antibiotics which were developed against planktonic cells. Consequently, there is a lack of antibiofilm agents in the antibiotic development pipeline. To address this problem, we developed a platelet-rich plasma (PRP)-derived biologic, termed BIO-PLY (for the BIOactive fraction of Platelet-rich plasma LYsate) which has potent in vitro bactericidal activity against S. aureus synovial fluid free-floating biofilm aggregates. Additional in vitro st...
Ganzenberg S, Sieg M, Ziegler U, Pfeffer M, Vahlenkamp TW, Hörügel U, Groschup MH, Lohmann KL.West Nile virus (WNV) infections were first detected in Germany in 2018, but information about WNV seroprevalence in horses is limited. The study's overall goal was to gather information that would help veterinarians, horse owners, and veterinary-, and public health- authorities understand the spread of WNV in Germany and direct protective measures. For this purpose, WNV seroprevalence was determined in counties with and without previously registered WNV infections in horses, and risk factors for seropositivity were estimated. The cohort consisted of privately owned horses from nine counties i...
Mathewos M, Teshome D, Fesseha H.Parasitic infections can cause a variety of respiratory, intestinal, and other problems in horses, as well as contribute to some performance issues. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in and around Bekoji, South Eastern Ethiopia, from November 2020 to June 2021 to identify species and evaluate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in donkeys and horses, using direct fecal smear, floatation methods, and larval cultures. In this study, the overall prevalence of gastrointestinal nematode parasites was 94.5% (363 out of 384), with donkeys accounting for 95.8% and horses accounting for 9...
Roßgardt J, Heilen LB, Büttner K, Dern-Wieloch J, Vogelsberg J, Staszyk C.To maintain a healthy and functional status, equine hypsodont teeth have to produce lifelong large amounts of subocclusal dentin to prevent occlusal pulp exposure, which is caused by occlusal wear. To examine the cyto- and histological components that guarantee the lifelong high productivity of equine pulp, a limited number of ten incisors and ten cheek teeth from seven adult horses (aged 5 to 24 years) and five foals were sampled for preliminary histomorphometric and histomorphological evaluations. Independently of age, the equine dental pulp featured constant layers of predentin and odontobl...
Bollig ER, Granick JL, Webb TL, Ward C, Beaudoin AL.Antimicrobials are critical for medicine, but the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effectiveness of these valuable drugs. In USA, there are no national- or state-level programs or policies in place to track antibiotic use (AU) in dogs, cats, and horses, despite acknowledgement of this sector's importance to both the AMR problem and its solution. AU measurement is a key part of antibiotic stewardship and AMR prevention. This study aimed to fill existing gaps in the veterinary professions' knowledge of antibiotic prescribing in small animals and horses. To address this aim...
Stemmet GP, Robert MP, Smit Y.Sinusitis is a common occurrence in horses and often develops secondary to dental disease. Extraction of cheek teeth in horses is associated with variable degrees of complications and although postoperative displacement and retention of alveolar plugs has been identified as one such potential complication, few cases of resulting sinusitis have been reported. This manuscript describes a four-year-old Thoroughbred mare that was presented for chronic unilateral left-sided mucopurulent nasal discharge after extraction of the left maxillary second molar tooth two months earlier. Radiographic and co...
León B, González G, Nicoli A, Rojas A, Pizio AD, Ramirez-Carvajal L, Jimenez C.Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an arboviral pathogen in tropical America that causes lethal encephalitis in horses and humans. VEEV is classified into six subtypes (I to VI). Subtype I viruses are divided into epizootic (IAB and IC) and endemic strains (ID and IE) that can produce outbreaks or sporadic diseases, respectively. The objective of this study was to reconstruct the phylogeny and the molecular clock of sequences of VEEV subtype I complex and identify mutations within sequences belonging to epizootic or enzootic subtypes focusing on a sequence isolated from a mare in C...
Stange LM, Krieter J, Czycholl I.Equine headshaking syndrome (EHS) is characterised as non-physical and involuntary movement of the horse's head and neck. Although EHS is clinically simple to diagnose, its aetiopathogenesis often remains unclear. The aim of this study was to gain an overview of signalment and therapy possibilities used in France and Switzerland. To do this, an online survey was developed and distributed via newsletters. A total of 933 complete, answered surveys from France ( = 804) and Switzerland ( = 129) were evaluated. The median age in France was 12.4 years (CH = 14.3). Mostly geldings were affected (58.5...
Iglesias-García M, Rodríguez Hurtado I, Ortiz-Díez G, De la Calle Del Barrio J, Fernández Pérez C, Gómez Lucas R.The extrinsic and intrinsic characteristics of an equine population may influence the onset of gastrointestinal lesions and affect the survival rate of patients. The equine population in Spain has been the focus of a small number of studies, none of which have involved more than one surgical center. In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to analyze the survival rate, identify the variables that influenced death, and generate multivariate models using clinical variables. Data were collected from the clinical records of two surgical referral centers in the same region, and a total of 566 h...
Gabryś J, Kij-Mitka B, Sawicki S, Kochan J, Nowak A, Łojko J, Karnas E, Bugno-Poniewierska M.The in vitro maturation (IVM) of equine oocytes is still not efficient and does not yield consistent results. The specific requirements of equine oocytes during this process are still largely unknown, which hinders the development of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) in this species. Because the ovarian follicle microenvironment supports oocytes in their acquisition of developmental competence, follicular fluid seems to be a substantial source of bioactive factors that could support the IVM process. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-secreted molecules in body fluids that are able to ...
Bukhari SSUH, Rosanowski SM, McElligott AG, Parkes RSV.Working donkeys () are vital to people's livelihoods. They are essential for carrying goods, however, globally, overloading is one of the primary welfare concerns for working donkeys. We studied mounted load carrying by donkeys and associated factors in Pakistan. A cross-sectional study of donkey owners ( = 332) was conducted, and interviews were undertaken based on a questionnaire. Owners estimated that the median weight of their donkeys was 110 kg [interquartile range (IQR) 100-120 kg], and that they carried a median mounted load of 81.5 kg (IQR 63-99 kg). We found that 87.4% of donkeys carr...
Ursini T, Shaw K, Levine D, Richards J, Adair HS.Thoracolumbar pain has been identified in both human and equine patients. Rehabilitation and conditioning programs have focused specifically on improving trunk and abdominal muscle function (1-5). Equine exercise programs routinely incorporate ground poles and training devices for the similar goals of increasing spinal and core stability and strength (6-8). The multifidus muscle has been an area of focus due to atrophy associated with disease (9). To date, there have been no reports on the activity of the multifidus muscle in horses in relation to therapeutic exercises. Our objectives were to ...
Lo Feudo CM, Stucchi L, Cavicchioli P, Stancari G, Conturba B, Zucca E, Ferrucci F.To evaluate the association between the severity of dynamic upper airway obstruction (DUAO) and selected fitness parameters in Standardbred racehorses measured by treadmill test. 191 Standardbred racehorses that underwent a standardized diagnostic protocol for poor performance evaluation between 2002 and 2021 at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Milan. Horses underwent a diagnostic protocol including clinical examination, lameness evaluation, laboratory analyses, ECG, resting upper airway endoscopy, metabolic incremental treadmill test, high-speed treadmill endoscopy, postexercis...
Pollard CL, Gibb Z, Clulow J, Ruiz A, Sheridan A, Bahrami M, Swegen A, Grupen CG.A deficiency in NAD has previously been linked with increased occurrences of congenital abnormalities and embryonic death in humans and mice. Early embryonic death is a major factor involved in pregnancy loss in mares, and very little is known regarding the NAD requirements for optimum reproductive function in horses. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of supplementing the diet of mares with nicotinic acid (NA) on the composition of NAD metabolites in the blood and follicular fluid. Vehicle alone or NA (3 g per os) were administered to seven mares over a minimum of 3 consecutive...
Nocera I, Bonelli F, Turini L, Madrigali A, Aliboni B, Sgorbini M.The body condition score (BCS) represents a practical but subjective method for assessing body fat reserves. Real time ultrasonography (RTU) has been proposed as an accurate method to objectively measure subcutaneous fat (SF) thickness and predict body fat reserves in cows, horses and donkeys. The aim of the present study was to describe RTU measures of SF thickness during periparturient period in jennies. The present prospective cohort study evaluated six dairy jennies. SF RTU were performed at 15 and 7 days before the presumptive delivery, and 2, 15 and 30 days after delivery. A portable ult...
Hellman S.Enteroid cultures are three-dimensional in vitro models that reflect the cellular composition and architecture of the small intestine. One limitation with the enteroid conformation is the enclosed lumen, making it difficult to expose the apical surface of the epithelium to experimental treatments. The present study was therefore conducted to generate cultures of equine enteroids and to develop methods for culture of enteroid-derived cells on a two-dimensional plane, enabling easy access to the apical surface of the epithelium. Equine enteroids were established from small intestinal crypts with...
Cadby JA, David F, van de Lest C, Bosch G, van Weeren PR, Snedeker JG, van Schie HT.Injuries in energy-storing tendons are common in both horses and man. The high prevalence of reinjury and the relatively poor prognosis for returning to preinjury performance levels warrant further research, for which well characterised models would be very helpful. Objective: Given the clinical similarities in tendinopathy of energy-storing tendons, we hypothesised that a recently developed experimental model of equine tendon injury would display many of the characteristics of clinical tendinopathy and could therefore be of use for both species, thus providing comparative insight to the human...
Kane AJ, Stover SM, Gardner IA, Bock KB, Case JT, Johnson BJ, Anderson ML, Barr BC, Daft BM, Kinde H, Larochelle D, Moore J, Mysore J, Stoltz J....To evaluate hoof size, shape, and balance as risk factors for catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries (CMI), including suspensory apparatus failure (SAF) and cannon bone condylar fracture (CDY) in Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: 95 Thoroughbred racehorses that died between 1994 and 1996. Methods: 38 quantitative measures of hoof size, shape, and balance were obtained from orthogonal digital images of the hoof and were compared between case horses with forelimb CMI (70), SAF (43), and CDY (10) injuries and control horses whose death was unrelated to the musculoskeletal system (non-CMI, 25). Com...
Lei R, Wang X, Zhang D, Liu Y, Chen Q, Jiang N.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a severe disease of horses caused by the tick-borne protozoa Theileria equi (T. equi) and Babesia caballi (B. caballi). Infectious carriers are not always symptomatic, meaning there is a risk to non-enzootic areas. Regulatory tests for EP include sero-epidemiological methods for equine babesiosis, but these lack specificity due to cross-reactivity with other Babesia species. In this study, we present a real-time quantitative recombinase polymerase amplification (qRPA) method for fast simultaneous detection of both T. equi and B. caballi. In this method, primers and...
Muscatello G, Gerbaud S, Kennedy C, Gilkerson JR, Buckley T, Klay M, Leadon DP, Browning GF.Rhodococcoccus equi is a significant cause of bronchopneumonia in foals worldwide. Infection of the lungs is believed to result from inhalation of virulent R. equi in dust from contaminated environments. A measure of infectious risk in an environment is the level of airborne contamination. Objective: To assess and compare the level of airborne virulent R. equi in paddocks and stables. Methods: Air samples were collected sequentially over the 2003 foaling season from the paddocks and stables on 3 Irish horse breeding farms affected by R. equi pneumonia. Colony blotting and DNA hybridisation tec...
Leclere M, Desnoyers M, Beauchamp G, Lavoie JP.Mast cells normally are present in equine bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), but usually represent <2% of all cells in healthy horses. An increased percentage of mast cells has been associated with airway hyperactivity and inflammatory airway diseases, but marked differences are reported between studies in normal and diseased horses. Because an abnormal mast cell count may be of clinical relevance, we compared the ability of a fast Romanowsky method to stain mast cell granules with that of 3 metachromatic stains: automated Romanowsky, May-Grünwald Giemsa, and toluidine blue stains. The B...
Georgopoulos SP, Parkin TD.The aim of this paper is to identify risk factors associated with equine fractures in flat horse racing of Thoroughbreds in North America. Equine fractures were defined as any fracture sustained by a horse during a race. This was a cohort study that made use of all starts from the racecourses reporting injuries. The analysis was based on 2,201,152 racing starts that represent 91% of all official racing starts in the USA and Canada from 1st January 2009-31st December 2014. Approximately 3,990,000 workout starts made by the 171,523 Thoroughbreds that raced during that period were also included i...
Weber LA, Meißner J, Delarocque J, Kalbitz J, Feige K, Kietzmann M, Michaelis A, Paschke R, Michael J, Pratscher B, Cavalleri JV.Equine malignant melanoma (EMM) is a frequently occurring dermoepidermal tumor in grey horses. Currently available therapies are either challenging or inefficient. Betulinic acid (BA), a naturally occurring triterpenoid, is a promising compound for cancer treatment. To evaluate the potential of BA as a topical therapy for EMM, its anticancer effects on primary equine melanoma cells and dermal fibroblasts and its percutaneous permeation through isolated equine skin were assessed in vitro. Results: BA showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects on both primary equine melanoma cells and fibrob...
Nemoto M, Kanno T, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kokado H.A vaccine for equine coronavirus (ECoV) is so far unavailable. Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) is antigenically related to ECoV; it is therefore possible that BCoV vaccine will induce antibodies against ECoV in horses. This study investigated antibody response to ECoV in horses inoculated with BCoV vaccine. Virus neutralization tests showed that antibody titers against ECoV increased in all six horses tested at 14 days post inoculation, although the antibody titers were lower against ECoV than against BCoV. This study showed that BCoV vaccine provides horses with antibodies against ECoV to some exte...
Nash DM, Sheldon IM, Herath S, Lane EA.Reproductive efficiency in mares is low and persistent mating-induced endometritis (PMIE) is an important cause of subfertility. Mating-induced endometritis (MIE) an obligate precursor to PMIE, is a ubiquitous, transient inflammatory response to the presence of sperm, seminal components and pathogens. However, the specific inflammatory pathways that derive from MIE and that may also be precursors to PMIE are not clear. The ability to identify and measure robust, repeatable markers of inflammation integral to MIE may be key to understanding the progression to PMIE. The aim of the study was to (...
Boyde A, Haroon Y, Jones SJ, Riggs CM.This study examined the three-dimensional (3D) microarchitecture of regions of the equine third metacarpal bone (McIII) commonly involved in distal condylar fractures. Limbs were obtained from Thoroughbred horses (neonates to age 24 years) destroyed for inoperable fractures and a variety of other conditions. Beams, blocks and sections were cut in the principal axes, some embedded in PMMA and others examined unembedded. Several methods were used to study the 3D structure, including conventional and confocal optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and radiography. The mineralised ...
Miró J, Marín H, Catalán J, Papas M, Gacem S, Yeste M.In the donkey, artificial insemination (AI) with frozen-thawed semen is associated with low fertility rates, which could be partially augmented through adding seminal plasma (SP) and increasing sperm concentration. On the other hand, post-AI endometrial inflammation in the jenny is significantly higher than in the mare. While previous studies analyzed this response through recovering Polymorphonuclear Neutrophils (PMN) from uterine washings, successive lavages can detrimentally impact the endometrium, leading to fertility issues. For this reason, the first set of experiments in this work inten...
Scott R, Nankervis K, Stringer C, Westcott K, Marlin D.Water treadmill exercise is often incorporated into rehabilitation programmes for horses yet little is known about the biomechanical and physiological responses to water walking. Objective: To establish whether stride frequency (SF) reached steady state as a result of 6 introductory water treadmill sessions and then to investigate the effect of increasing water height on SF, stride length (SL) and heart rate (HR). Methods: Nine horses with no previous experience of water treadmills completed 6 sessions of walking for between 15 and 30 min. Each horse was fitted with a leg mounted accelerometer...
Sallé G, Cortet J, Bois I, Dubès C, Guyot-Sionest Q, Larrieu C, Landrin V, Majorel G, Wittreck S, Woringer E, Couroucé A, Guillot J, Jacquiet P....Intestinal strongyles are the most problematic endoparasites of equids as a result of their wide distribution and the spread of resistant isolates throughout the world. While abundant literature can be found on the extent of anthelmintic resistance across continents, empirical knowledge about associated risk factors is missing. This study brought together results from anthelmintic efficacy testing and risk factor analysis to provide evidence-based guidelines in the field. It involved 688 horses from 39 French horse farms and riding schools to both estimate Faecal Egg Count Reduction (FECR) aft...
Jansson A, Dahlborn K.The effect of feeding frequency and voluntary sodium intake (VSI) on fluid shifts and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) were studied at rest and after exercise in six athletic horses. The horses were fed twice a day (2TD) and six times a day (6TD) for 25 days for each protocol, according to a changeover design. VSI was measured by weighing each horse's salt block daily. Feeding 2TD or 6TD caused no major alterations in fluid shifts, but in the 2TD treatment there was a postprandial increase in plasma protein concentration and osmolality that lasted <1 h. PAC and VSI were not affected b...
Bullone M, Chevigny M, Allano M, Martin JG, Lavoie JP.Morphometric analyses of endobronchial biopsies are commonly performed in asthma research but little is known about the technical and physiological parameters contributing to measurement variability. We investigated factors potentially affecting biopsy size, quality, and airway smooth muscle (ASM) content in heaves, an asthma-like disease of horses. Horses with heaves in clinical exacerbation (n = 6) or remission (n = 6) from the disease and six controls were studied using a crossover design. The effect of disease status, age, bronchodilation, biopsy forceps type, and carina size on total biop...
Branly T, Contentin R, Desancé M, Jacquel T, Bertoni L, Jacquet S, Mallein-Gerin F, Denoix JM, Audigié F, Demoor M, Galéra P.Articular cartilage is a tissue characterized by its poor intrinsic capacity for self-repair. This tissue is frequently altered upon trauma or in osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative disease that is currently incurable. Similar musculoskeletal disorders also affect horses and OA incurs considerable economic loss for the equine sector. In the view to develop new therapies for humans and horses, significant progress in tissue engineering has led to the emergence of new generations of cartilage therapy. Matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation is an advanced 3D cell-based therapy that...
Borchers A, Wilkins PA, Marsh PM, Axon JE, Read J, Castagnetti C, Pantaleon L, Clark C, Qura'n L, Belgrave R, Trachsel D, Levy M, Bedenice D....Admission L-lactate concentration is a useful and commonly measured biomarker not previously prospectively evaluated in a large multicentre study of critically ill neonatal foals. Objective: To evaluate overall outcome and the association of survival and L-lactate concentration at admission ([LAC]ADMIT) by periparturient history, presenting complaint and clinicians' major diagnosis for ill neonatal foals. Methods: Thirteen university and private equine referral hospitals enrolled 643 foals over the 2008 foaling season. Case details, historical, clinical and clinicopathological data were entere...
Cohen ND, Chaffin MK, Vandenplas ML, Edwards RF, Nevill M, Moore JN, Martens RJ.Prognosis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia can be challenging because the course of the disease is often insidious and overt clinical signs are subtle. Early diagnosis is considered desirable because it may offer the chance of more successful implementation of treatment and, thereby, improved outcome. Serological tests have previously failed to be accurate for early detection or diagnosis. Measurement of serum amyloid A (SAA) prior to and at the time of clinical signs was therefore chosen in order to assess its potential clinical use. Objective: To determine whether SAA concentrations differentia...
Robinson C, Waller AS, Frykberg L, Flock M, Zachrisson O, Guss B, Flock JI.The equine disease strangles, caused by Streptococcus equi, remains a major cause of welfare and economic cost to the global horse industry. Here we report the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of a novel multi-component chimeric fusion protein vaccine, called Strangvac, when administered to ponies via the intramuscular route. Across the four studies, Strangvac was safe and induced robust antibody responses towards the vaccine components in blood serum and the nasopharynx, which were boosted by revaccination up to 12 months after a primary course of 2 vaccinations 4 weeks apart. The vaccin...
Cassart D, Baise E, Cherel Y, Delguste C, Antoine N, Votion D, Amory H, Rollin F, Linden A, Coignoul F, Desmecht D.There is a lack of well documented studies about muscular lesions in equine atypical myopathy (EAM). Objective: To characterise morphopathological changes of striated muscles and myocardium, to progress understanding of this disease. Methods: Thirty-two horses age 0.5-7 years kept on pasture were referred for a sudden ataxia/myoglobinuria syndrome. Clinical examination (stiffness, muscle pain, muscle fasciculations, abnormal gait, recumbency, myoglobinuria, tachycardia, sweating) and plasma CPK, LDH and AST levels were consistent with extensive myonecrosis and, together with anamnestic data, w...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Escribano D, Martín-Cuervo M, Tecles F, Cerón JJ.The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), considered a non-invasive biomarker for sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, and salivary cortisol as possible pain-induced stress biomarker, in horses with acute abdominal disease. Therefore, a prospective observational study was performed in which both biomarkers were analyzed in a group of horses with acute abdomen syndrome, and compared with a group of healthy control horses by an unpaired Student's t-test. In addition, the possible relationship between both biomarkers, the score in Equine Acute Abdominal Pain scal...
Pelagalli A, Belisario MA, Tafuri S, Lombardi P, d'Angelo D, Avallone L, Staiano N.The use of large animals (e.g., pig and sheep) in human medicine, and the need to develop new therapeutic strategies for domestic animal diseases related to platelet disorders, require better characterization of the physiology of animal platelets. In this study, the ability of platelets from buffaloes, horses, pigs and sheep to adhere to immobilized autologous fibrinogen was compared with that of human platelets. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of six healthy subjects of each species and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was obtained by centrifugation. Platelets, isolated by furthe...
Del Piero F.Equine viral arteritis (EVA) can cause prominent economic losses for the equine industry. The purpose of this review is to provide the pathologist some familiarity with the clinical history, lesions, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of EVA. EVA is caused by an arterivirus (equine arteritis virus, EAV), and the vascular system is the principal but not unique viral target. EVA has variable presentations, including interstitial pneumonia, panvasculitis with edema, thrombosis and hemorrhage, lymphoid necrosis, renal tubular necrosis, abortion, and inflammation of male accessory genital glands. EAV anti...
Hornstra H, Pearson T, Georgia S, Liguori A, Dale J, Price E, O'Neill M, Deshazer D, Muhammad G, Saqib M, Naureen A, Keim P.We collected epidemiologic and molecular data from Burkholderia mallei isolates from equines in Punjab, Pakistan from 1999 through 2007. We show that recent outbreaks are genetically distinct from available whole genome sequences and that these genotypes are persistent and ubiquitous in Punjab, probably due to human-mediated movement of equines.
Traversa D, Klei TR, Iorio R, Paoletti B, Lia RP, Otranto D, Sparagano OA, Giangaspero A.In the present survey, 276 horses bred on 16 farms located in central and southern Italy were investigated for the presence of drug resistant cyathostomes by a Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT). Sixteen to 20 animals were selected on each farm and randomly assigned to one of four equally sized treatment groups. Groups were treated with fenbendazole, pyrantel pamoate, ivermectin or moxidectin. Resistance to fenbendazole was declared on six farms (37.5%) and suspected in two farms (12.5%), with FECR values ranging from 41% to 88.3%. Resistance to pyrantel was found in two farms (12.5%) and ...
Dunowska M.Equid herpesvirus (EHV) type 1 is a common pathogen of horses with worldwide distribution. Although severe tracheobronchitis has been described in some field outbreaks of EHV-1 respiratory disease, many EHV-1 infections occur asymptomatically or are accompanied only by signs of mild respiratory disease. However, EHV-1 infection can also result in outcomes other than respiratory disease such as abortion, neonatal death or neurological disease. This review provides an overview of the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for EHV-1-associated diseases, with an emphasis on neurological presentations ...
Arnold-Lehna D, Venner M, Berghaus LJ, Berghaus R, Giguère S.There is a lack of data on the efficacy of treatment of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in association with an optimised selection of foals. Objective: To evaluate whether targeted treatment protocols resulting in decreased antimicrobial use impact foal mortality rates. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Three hundred and thirty foals with pneumonia per year were randomly selected from 2008 to 2016. All foals were examined once weekly from birth until weaning. A physical examination of the respiratory tract, body temperature, haematology and an ultrasonographic examination of the lungs was incl...
Murphy J, Arkins S.Scientists and equestrians continually seek to achieve a clearer understanding of equine learning behaviour and its implications for training. Behavioural and learning processes in the horse are likely to influence not only equine athletic success but also the usefulness of the horse as a domesticated species. However given the status and commercial importance of the animal, equine learning behaviour has received only limited investigation. Indeed most experimental studies on equine cognitive function to date have addressed behaviour, learning and conceptualization processes at a moderately ba...
Zou X, Zou L, Foldager C, Bendtsen M, Feng W, Bünger CE.To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of spinal fusion with different graft materials during an anterior lumbar interbody fusion, we examined the gene-expression profiles after implantation of equine bone protein extract, rhBMP-2 and autograft using microarray technology and data analysis, including hierarchical clustering, self-organizing maps (SOM), KEGG pathway and Biological process GO analyses in a porcine model. The results suggest that equine bone protein extract exhibited a more similar expression pattern with autograft than that of rhBMP-2. rhBMP-2 recruits progenitor cells, prolifera...
